Palestinian tries to stab Israeli soldiers, is shot dead: Army

Jerusalem July 20 (IANS) Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian when he tried to stab soldiers at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Thursday a military spokesperson said.

"An assailant armed with a knife attempted to stab Israel Defence Forces soldiers at a checkpoint. In response the forces shot at him. He was severely wounded and died at the scene " the military spokesperson was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. No Israelis were injured.

It was the second time a Palestinian was shot dead by soldiers over the past two days. On Tuesday troops killed a Palestinian man who perpetrated a car-ramming attack near the city of Hebron in the West Bank lightly injuring a soldier before he was shot according to officials.

The violence came amidst heightened tensions in the region sparked by new security measures that Israel has implemented in Al-Aqsa mosque compound one of East Jerusalem s most sensitive holy sites.

The measures including metal detectors at the gates and CCTVs were installed in the wake of a shooting attack that killed two policemen. The assailants three Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship were subsequently killed by the police.

A wave of unrest that erupted in mid-September 2015 has claimed the lives of at least 283 Palestinians 44 Israelis two US nationals two Jordanians an Eritrean a Sudanese and a British tourist.

--IANS
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