Two Palestinians killed after attacking Israeli soldiers near Jerusalem

Israeli paramedics take a wounded soldier into a hospital in Jerusalem.

“Three attackers, armed with knives, attempted to stab soldiers guarding the Gush Etzion junction”, a statement said, adding that troops responded by firing at the assailants.

Four Palestinians from the same town near Hebron were shot dead by Israeli forces on Thursday after alleged stabbing attempts in two separate incidents in the southern West Bank, the army said.

The alleged attack occurred at Gush Etzion Junction, where many recent incidents have taken place.

The circumstances of several Palestinian deaths have been disputed, with investigations by rights groups into a number of cases concluding that Israeli forces were implementing extrajudicial executions against Palestinians who posed no threat at the time of their death.

A Palestinian man has his identity checked by Israeli border police patrolling the streets of the West Bank city of Hebron on January 5, 2016. The neck guard is created to be slipped on underneath a variety of protective vest designs so that soldiers in all areas of the military can wear them.

Israeli media identified the two as an Israeli Arab and a Palestinian, saying the protesting passengers were Jewish.

The Israeli imposed restrictions have enraged Palestinians, who are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers frequently storming the al-Aqsa Mosque.

“People should not be surprised by such shameful acts when the prime minister stands at the forefront of incitement and the racist narrative against an entire sector of society, during the last election and now as well”, Mr Gher said. The surge in violence has been fueled by Palestinians’ frustration over Israel’s 48-year occupation of land they seek for an independent state, and the expansion of settlements in those territories which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.