Israeli troops shoot and kill Palestinian attacker in W.Bank -army

Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who tried to stab them in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the military said, the latest in a months-long wave of Palestinian attacks that shows little sign of abating. 

 

The Palestinian had infiltrated a security fence near the Israeli settlement Salit, the military said. When soldiers responded at the scene, he drew a knife and tried to stab them, it said. No Israelis were injured.

 

A campaign of stabbings, shootings and car-rammings by Palestinians has killed 26 Israelis and a U.S. citizen since the start of October. Israeli forces have killed at least 153 Palestinians, 99 of them assailants according to authorities. Most of the others have died in violent protests.

 

The surge in attacks has been partly fueled by Palestinian frustration over the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks in 2014, the growth of Jewish settlements on land they seek for a future state and Islamist calls for the destruction of Israel.