Israeli police shoot dead knife-wielding Palestinian teen near Jerusalem

Israeli policemen on Sunday killed a Palestinian teenager after he allegedly rushed towards them with a knife near a checkpoint outside Jerusalem, in the second such deadly incident in the day.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the incident occurred during security checks in the Mazmoriya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

A Palestinian youth ran toward paramilitary Border Police officers who were checking Palestinian cars waiting to enter the city.

Another police officer, watching the scene through a security camera, saw the teen running toward the police officers and warned them, Samri said. The force then shot and killed the teen, she said.

No Israelis were injured in the incident, which was the latest in a five-month-long violent Palestinian uprising. At least 165 Palestinians and 26 Israelis have been killed in the violence.

In the morning, an Israeli force shot dead two 15-year-old Palestinians after one of them opened fire at soldiers near the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank.

A military spokesperson said the Palestinians were hurling rocks at passing cars before the arrival of the soldiers and the ensuing shootout.

Israel has been accusing the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the violence while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli control of their lands.

Israel seized the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Mideast War, and later annexed East Jerusalem, in a move never recognized by the international community.

The West Bank settlements are illegal under international law and the international community opposes them, saying their construction undermine prospects of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Endit