Israeli military: Palestinian man killed after stabbing attempt in West Bank settlement
JERUSALEM - A Palestinian man was shot and killed on Friday in the occupied West Bank after sneaking into a Jewish settlement and trying to stab a resident there, the Israeli army said.
In a statement, the military said the man attempted to stab a resident in the Tene Omarim settlement and was shot by an armed civilian. It said the incident had set off an alarm and soldiers were scanning the area.
The Palestinian Health ministry confirmed the death and identified the killed man as Alaa Qissaya, 28.
Security camera footage from the site shows a Palestinian male crawling in under a gate and walking into the settlement while holding a knife. The video does not show the alleged stabbing attempt or the man being shot.
The settlement is located near Hebron, a flashpoint city in the southern West Bank, which is a frequent site of friction between Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers.
The incident occurred as Jews were celebrating Shavuot, a festival marking the day that Jews believe the Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai in Egypt.
It was the latest in more than a yearlong spate of violence in the West Bank. During that time, Israel has expanded near-nightly military raids throughout the area in response to an increase in Palestinian attacks.
At least 113 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, with nearly half of them members of armed militant groups, according to an Associated Press tally. But stone-throwing youths and people uninvolved in violence have also been killed. The Israeli army said the number of Palestinian militants killed is much higher.
Meanwhile, Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets in those areas have killed 20 people.
Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek these territories for a future state.
Some 700,000 Israelis now live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Most of the international community considers these settlements illegal or obstacles to peace.