Israeli troops kill 2 Palestinians after stabbing attempts

JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli military on Tuesday said it shot and killed two Palestinians who tried to carry out separate stabbing attacks in the West Bank.

The attacks were the latest in a wave of violence that erupted in mid-September and has shown no signs of ending.

Early Tuesday, the military said a Palestinian attempted to stab a pedestrian at a busy junction outside of Jerusalem when Israeli troops shot and killed him. An Israeli who was nearby was lightly wounded in the shooting.

Several hours later, the army reported another incident, in which a female assailant allegedly tried to stab a soldier. It said the soldier opened fire, killing her.

The army did say how close the attackers got to their targets, and no video footage was immediately released.

The latest, two-month round of Israeli-Palestinian violence began in mid-September with clashes at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site and quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Since then, 19 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings and shootings. At least 100 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 said by Israel to be attackers. The others died in clashes with Israeli forces.

Most of the attackers have been young Palestinians in their late teens or 20s.

Israel says the violence stems from Palestinian incitement and incendiary videos on social media. The Palestinians say the violence is rooted in frustration over nearly a half century of Israeli occupation and a lack of hope for obtaining independence.