Update: 2 Israelis killed in Palestinian stabbing attack in Jerusalem

Two Israelis died on Wednesday in a Palestinian stabbing attack near Jerusalem's Old City, while assailants were shot dead on site by police.

A police spokesperson said the incident occurred in the afternoon near the Old City's Jaffa Gate, a popular tourist spot.

Two Palestinians arrived at the site, stabbing passers-by before they were shot dead by two women border police, said the spokesperson.

A 46-year-old Israeli man was shot accidentally when the policewomen shot at the attackers, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said in a statement, adding that he died of his wounds in the early evening.

A few minutes later, a second victim, critically injured by the stabbings, was also pronounced dead. A third Israeli was in hospital in critical condition.

The attackers, aged 20 and 21, were residents of the Qalandia refugee camp in the West Bank.

The attack came amid an ongoing wave of violence which started in October, which claimed the lives of 21 Israelis so far in lone-wolf stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks, and at least 120 Palestinians, some killed in clashes with Israeli security forces while others gunned down while allegedly trying to carry out attacks against Israelis.

Israeli leaders blame the Palestinian Authority for incitement to violence, allegedly due to strife over the religious holy site of the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, holy to both Jews and Muslims.

On the other hand, Palestinians charge Israel's ongoing occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories since 1967 and the dim prospects to establish a Palestinian state in these territories amid a two-state peace solution are to blame for the wave of unrest. Endit