A Palestinian woman attempted to stab a female Israeli soldier in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday before being shot dead by her victim, Israeli police said.

The soldier was guarding the settler enclave in the heart of the city, where some 500 Jews live under heavy protection surrounded by nearly 200,000 Palestinians. She suffered minor injuries to her hand, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

It was the second attempted stabbing of the day in Hebron that had led to a Palestinian assailant being killed.