Israeli Police Stabbed, Two Palestinians Shot Dead

Illustration of the arrest of Palestinians by Israeli troops. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency)

JAKARTA - Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian near the border with the West Bank, while another died after infiltrating Jewish settlements inside the occupied territories with a knife on Sunday, the Israeli army said, sparking fears a wider conflict could erupt.

The incident, along with the stabbing of a policeman in Jerusalem, came hours after Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians suspected of sneaking into Israel and then killing three people in the city of Elad on Israel's Independence Day last Thursday. Read more

The Israeli army said the shooting of a Palestinian near the West Bank border on Sunday came after "soldiers spotted a suspect trying to illegally cross the security fence" in the Tulkarm City area.

"The army operated to stop the suspect in accordance with standard operating procedures, using live fire," a military spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said the man shot in the incident was declared dead.

Hours later, the army said a civilian shot a knife-wielding Palestinian who had entered the Tekoa settlement in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 17-year-old Palestinian died at the scene.

Also on Sunday, Israeli police said a Palestinian stabbed one of their officers outside Jerusalem's Old City and was shot. Both were treated for their injuries.

The killing of three people in Elad on Thursday has led to a three-day manhunt by Israeli forces for two ax-wielding assailants who had dashed through the city, about 15 km (nine miles) north of Tel Aviv.

The two men were arrested on Sunday in a forest near Elad, the Israeli army said. They have been identified by Israel as residents of a village near the Palestinian town of Jenin in the West Bank.

A photo of the two, who appeared unharmed, and Israeli security officers with guns pointed at their hiding place, was carried by Israeli news sites after they were detained.

Since March, Palestinians and members of Israel's Arab minority have killed 18 people, including three police officers and a security guard, in attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have mostly targeted civilians.

Israel has carried out arrest raids in Palestinian cities and territories that often trigger clashes, bringing the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or armed civilians since the start of the year to at least 42.

Victims included armed members of the militant group, lone attackers and bystanders.

Separately, Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that controls Gaza, praised Elad's attack. It said the attack was a response to Israel's actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.

It is known, over the past month, Palestinian residents and Israeli police have repeatedly clashed in the sensitive compound.

Palestine and Jordan, custodians of the site which is Islam's third holiest site, accuse Israel of not doing enough to enforce a long-standing ban on non-Muslim prayers there, which Israel denies.

Meanwhile, this complex is Judaism's holiest site and the remains of two ancient Jewish temples. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War.