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.

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