Israeli soldiers kill 2 Palestinians

Shortly afterwards, a Palestinian was shot while he tried to stab soldiers near Hebron, an Israeli statement said.

The army says the attack took place on Thursday evening at the Gush Etzion junction near Jerusalem. None of the soldiers were injured.

Israeli forces have reportedly demolished a number of Palestinian homes and detained more than a dozen in occupied Palestinian territories over the past few days.

Based on figures released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), last year, the homes of some 539 Palestinians were demolished by the Israeli regime while a further 742 were forced to abandon their homes.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Red Crescent said the Israeli army did not allow medics to provide assistance to the three Palestinians, who were left to bleed to death.

Also stoking the violence has been Muslim opposition to increased Israeli access to Jerusalem’s al Aqsa mosque complex, which is the third holiest site in Islam and is also revered in Judaism as the location of two biblical temples.

The three would-be assailants from the Gush Etzion incident were identified in Palestinian media as Muhanad Kawazbeh, 20; Ahmed Kawazbeh, 21, and Alaa Kawazbeh, 20, all from Sair.

Twenty-two Israelis, an American and an Eritrean have been killed in Palestinian attacks including stabbings, auto rammings and gunfire targeting security forces and civilians since October 1.

Many of the Palestinian attackers in recent violence have come from Hebron.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the passengers were treated with “discrimination and prejudice” and called upon the Greek government to compensate the passengers.