Four Palestinian attackers killed by Israeli troops

Israeli soldiers have opened fire on three Palestinians brandishing knives, killing two of them and wounding one.

Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinian attackers after they tried to stab Israeli soldiers in two separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, global media report.

The fourth Palestinian killed north of Hebron was 16-year-old Khalil Mohammad Shalaldeh. The army said in a statement that the “forces thwarted (the) attack and shot (the) assailants”.

A Palestinian government official told AFP they would be raising the issue with Greek diplomats. Another attack, also on Thursday night, took place against soldiers at a checkpoint near Hebron.

No Israelis were injured in the latest incident amid a three-month-long wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, Xinhua news agency reported.

At the same time, 142 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks.

The group said some 2,133 Palestinians have been left homeless as a result of the Israeli regime’s demolition of Palestinian homes, which is “illegal under global law”.

Figures released by Israel’s security agency Shin Bet on Friday showed a 25 percent drop in the number of attacks by Palestinians on Israel from November to December, however.

Shortly afterward, IDF reservists shot and killed the three suspects, who according to initial investigations meant to ambush and stab the Israeli troops.

Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department slammed what it termed Israel’s “systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” in Silwan. Palestinians say it stems from frustration at decades of occupation.