Two Palestinians tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint early Saturday before they were shot dead by troops at the scene, the Israeli military said.
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A spokeswoman said the attack occurred in the north of the Jordan Valley.
Relations between Israelis and Palestinians remain tense amid a wave of attacks on Israelis by Palestinians and some Israeli Arabs which have killed 22 Israelis since the beginning of October.
Since Oct. 1 Israeli forces or armed civilians have killed at least 139 Palestinians, 89 of whom authorities described as assailants.
A mass Palestinian funeral ceremony for four youths killed by Israeli forces near the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank has turned into protests against the regime’s brutal crackdown on the residents of the occupied territories.
Israel has employed a raft of security and punitive measures in a bid to stem attacks.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the video footage, broadcast by a prominent Israeli current affairs show, “unmasked radicals” whose “hatred for settlements has pushed them over the edge to the point of delivering innocents for torture and execution”.
Israeli forces have responded to demonstrations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and within Israel by using force, including live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.
One hour later, another Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli army at Beat Anoun checkpoint eastern Hebron (Al-Khalil) southern West Bank.
Palestinian security sources identified the man as 18-year-old Zaid al-Ashqar, from Saida village near Tulkarem. “You can’t have a homeland without martyrs and to liberate our country we must sacrifice our martyrs”.
The resolution, which had 126 signatories and accused Israel of limiting Palestinian academic freedom, was rejected by a vote of 111 to 50, AHA executive director James Grossman confirmed, according to The Times of Israel.
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Since the start of the year it has returned the bodies of 26 Palestinians to their families.
