Palestinian killed in Hebron after wounding Israeli: police

Israeli police shot and killed a Palestinian assailant who seriously wounded a Jewish settler with a knife in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday, police said.

The knife-wielding Palestinian, whose identity was not immediately disclosed, stormed through a Border Police post and stabbed the Israeli civilian close to the "Cave of the Patriarchs," a holy site known to Muslims as the "Ibrahimi Mosque," police said.

Hebron has witnessed frequent violent attacks during the recent wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

About 850 Jewish settlers reside in Hebron which is heavily guarded by Israeli security forces and surrounded by tens of thousands of Palestinian residents.

Increased visits by far-right Israelis to the al-Aqsa mosque compound have triggered the recent violence, as the East Jerusalem site is holy to both Muslims and Jews. The tension has rapidly spread throughout the West Bank, Israel, and the Gaza Strip.

Since the violence erupted in September, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Palestinians, mostly in stabbing cases against Israeli civilians. Some 19 Israelis and one American were also killed by Palestinians. Endit