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Update: 2 Palestinian shot dead for alleged stabbing attack in West Bank: medics

Xinhua, December 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Two Palestinians, including a woman, were shot dead on Tuesday by Israeli soldiers during the confrontations in northern and southern West Bank, medical officials said.

The Palestinian health ministry said that a Palestinian young man was killed by Israeli troops near the settlement of Gush Etzion south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that the Palestinian man, armed with a knife, attempted to stab Jewish civilians at the Gush Etzion Junction, a major crossroad in a Jewish settlement bloc.

According to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a female Palestinian assailant tried to stab an Israeli military officer on late Tuesday morning at a crossing near the northern West Bank Jewish settlement of Einav, northwest of Nablus. The officer, who was not injured, shot and killed the attacker, the statement added.

"The Israeli army held the bodies of the two Palestinians and refused to hand them over to the Palestinian side," the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement, adding the Israeli army has been holding the bodies of around 40 Palestinians since October.

Last week, a 21-year-old Israeli woman was stabbed to death at the same junction.

Nineteen Israelis have died in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks by Palestinians during the past two months. Victims also included a U.S. national and a Palestinian man.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed during this period, some in clashes with Israeli security forces, while others after allegedly trying to carry out attacks.

The current wave of ongoing violence was sparked in September, amid strife over the East Jerusalem flashpoint site of the al-Aqsa mosque, holy to both Jews and Muslims, and escalated into full-blown violence throughout the country and the Palestinian territories.

Human rights organizations have been increasingly accusing Israeli security forces of using excessive force while subduing Palestinian suspects.

While Israeli right wing politicians blame the Palestinian National Authority and Palestinian media outlets for inciting unrest, Palestinian officials blame Israel for its 50-year occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, where they wish to establish a Palestinian state in accordance with the two-state solution. Endit