2 Israeli soldiers injured in stabbing attack in central West Bank settlement

Attacker killed by army, according to military statement

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Two Israeli soldiers were injured on Tuesday in a stabbing attack near an Israeli settlement in Ramallah, central West Bank, according to the army.

A military statement said that army forces shot dead the individual who stabbed Israeli soldiers during a search near the Ateret settlement, north of Ramallah.

Two soldiers were slightly injured, the public broadcaster KAN reported.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Muhammad Raslen Mahmoud Asmar, 18, from Beit Rima town, northwest of Ramallah, died of his injuries after being shot by Israeli soldiers.

His body was withheld by Israeli forces, the ministry said.

The Israeli army closed all entrances to Ramallah, blocking the movement of vehicles after the attack, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

Monday evening, a female Israeli soldier was injured in a car-ramming attack near the Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron in the southern West Bank, according to the army.

The assailant was killed this morning in Hebron, the army said.

The Health Ministry said that 17-year-old Muhannad Tariq Muhammad Al-Zaghir was killed by Israeli gunfire in Hebron at dawn, and his body was held by the army.

The Israeli forces raided Hebron, and closed all entrances to the city following the attack.

The latest attacks came amid an unprecedented surge in Israeli army and illegal settler attacks against Palestinians, their property and their livelihoods throughout the West Bank.

More than 1,085 Palestinians have since been killed and 10,700 others injured in attacks by the army and illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied territory.

Over 20,500 people have also been arrested.

In a landmark opinion in July last year, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.