JERUSALEM — Israeli policemen shot and killed a Palestinian as he tried to stab them in Jerusalem on Saturday, police said, while another Palestinian was shot dead in the West Bank after driving into a checkpoint and lightly wounding a soldier, the military said, in the latest incidents in over three months of unrelenting violence.
According to police spokeswoman Luba Samri, officers approached a man who was said to have drawn their suspicions just outside the Old City for following a pair of Jewish worshippers. When confronted, the Palestinian man pulled out a knife and tried to stab one of the policemen, prompting other officers to open fire and kill the assailant, Samri said.
Since mid-September, 20 Israelis have been killed in attacks. At least 128 Palestinians have died in the same period. Israel says 88 of them were attacking or attempting to attack Israelis while the rest died in clashes with Israeli troops.
Israel blames the Palestinian attacks on incitement. Palestinians say the violence stems from frustration over nearly five decades of Israeli military rule.
