Israeli army: Palestinian stabs girl in West Bank, shot dead

A Palestinian youth stabbed and wounded an Israeli girl at a West Bank settlement before he was shot dead on Thursday morning, Israeli officials said.

A military statement said the assailant jumped over the security fence around Kiryat Araba, a Jewish settlement near Hebron city, and stabbed a 15-year-old girl.

Israel's emergency medical teams said the critically wounded girl was evacuated to a hospital.

Another Israeli man was also seriously injured, apparently by errant fire during the struggle with the assailant, a spokesperson for the medical teams said.

Israeli Channel 2 TV News reported that the attacker broke into a home in the settlement, where he stabbed the girl in her bedroom before a patrol unit stormed the house and shot him dead.

The Israeli military confirmed his death.

The assailant was identified as Mahmoud Traira, a 17-year-old Palestinian from the village of Bani Naim, east of Hebron.

Israel and the Palestinians have been mired in a wave of violence since mid-September 2015, which has killed 205 Palestinians and 32 Israelis.

Some of the Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli security forces during protests, while others were gunned down for allegedly carrying out, or trying to carry out, attacks against Israelis.

The Israelis victims were killed by Palestinian attackers in car-ramming, stabbing and shooting attacks.

Israeli leaders accuse the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" unrest, while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, where they wish to establish an independent state. Endit