Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in separate incidents

Police on patrol near the gate noticed the man behaving in a suspicious manner, as he appeared to be following Jewish worshipers walking nearby.

Later, the army said a Palestinian injured a soldier in the West Bank by hitting him with his vehicle before himself being shot, but a witness said the man had not attacked anyone before he was hit. “The terrorist pulled out a knife and tried to stab the policeman and was quickly killed by police gunfire”. All three Palestinians were killed during the attacks. Most others have been killed in clashes with security forces.

In a separate incident along the Gaza Strip frontier, Israeli troops opened fire at a group of stone-throwing Palestinians who approached the border fence, killing one of them, a Palestinian health official said.

Since the beginning of October, the Israeli authorities have launched an ongoing crackdown in response to the situation on the ground, promoting a “shoot-to-kill” policy against Palestinians as well as a series of harsh measures throughout the occupied territories that rights groups have termed as collective punishment.

A number of Palestinians have attempted attacks with kitchen knives in what some analysts have described as virtual suicide missions.

MUSA AL-SHAER/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian protester fires back David style in the Christmas Day clash with Israeli troops.

An Israeli man reacts near the scene where a Palestinian was shot dead after he tried to stab an officer, according to a police spokesperson, near Jerusalem’s walled Old City December 26, 2015.

The Palestinians consider the victims martyrs in their fight against Israel.

No Israelis were injured and increased police forces arrived to the area following the attempted attack, Palestinian news agency (Ma’an) reported.

Earlier on Friday, clashes broke out between Palestinian protesters and the IDF in the West Bank.