Two knife-wielding Palestinians seriously wounded an Israeli soldier in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday before being shot dead by troops, an army spokeswoman said.

The stabbing came at the entrance to the heavily guarded Jewish settler enclave in the heart of the city, the source of constant tension with its 200,000-strong Palestinian population.

It was the latest attack in a wave of violence that has left 200 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, two Americans an Eritrean and a Sudanese dead since October 1, according to an AFP count.