West Bank stabbing wounds Israeli soldier, 2 attackers killed

Two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli soldier in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron overnight, moderately wounding him before they were shot dead by soldiers, the army said early Friday.

"Two assailants stabbed a soldier in Hebron," a military statement said. "In response to the threat, forces fired at the attackers, resulting in their death."

A wave of violence erupted on October 1 and has so far claimed the lives of more than 120 people, including 107 Palestinians and 17 Israelis.

Late Thursday night, an Israeli vehicle travelling near the West Bank city of Ramallah was hit by gunfire, the army said.

Speaking on public radio early Friday the driver said the windscreen of the car was riddled with bullets but neither he nor his passengers were harmed.

In separate incidents on Thursday, attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank injured an Israeli policeman, a soldier and a bystander, and two Palestinian alleged attackers were shot dead.

Palestinian security sources said one of the dead men, a gunman who the army said fired at soldiers near the West Bank village of Hizmeh, was a member of the Palestinian Authority's security forces, identifying him as 37-year-old Mazen Hassan Orebeih.

It is unusual for Palestinian security agents to be implicated in such attacks. Most of the attackers in the recent violence have been young Palestinians, including teenagers.
Source: AFP