Israeli forces kill two alleged Palestinian attackers in Jerusalem and West Bank

Weeks before, two 16-year-old Palestinians were shot dead at the checkpoint, one of whom was run over and shot by prominent Israeli settler Gershon Mesika after he said she was attempting to carry out an attack.

Relatives of Palestinian Maher Aljabi, 56, whom medics said was shot and killed by Israeli troops on Saturday, mourn during his funeral in the West Bank city of Nablus December 27, 2015.

A wave of violence since the start of October has claimed the lives of 132 people on the Palestinian side, 19 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean.

The violence has been driven by Palestinian anger over Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and disputes over access to the Al Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem.

In another stabbing attack in the capital, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed an IDF soldier on Sunday morning near Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station. Israeli forces or armed civilians have killed at least 126 Palestinians, 77 of whom authorities described as assailants, while others died in clashes with security forces. “The terrorist whipped out a knife and tried to stab a police officer”.

The Palestinian health ministry said that the assailants were Mohammed Sabaaneh, aged 17, and Nur Eddine Sabaaneh, 23, from Qabatia near Jenin in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Last week, the forces shot and killed a 15-year-old from the Nablus-area village of Beit Furik after he reportedly drew a knife on soldiers at the checkpoint. The soldier, 21, was in moderate but stable condition with a stab wound to his upper body.

Israel blames the Palestinian attacks on incitement; Palestinians say the violence stems from frustration at almost five decades of Israeli military rule. The site, Islam’s holiest outside Saudi Arabia, is also revered by many Jews as a vestige of their biblical temples.