Netanyahu is to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Germany in the coming week as part of an effort by Washington to restore calm.
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Elsewhere in the West Bank city, troops opened fire at stone-throwing Palestinian youths, wounding 11 with rubber bullets and one with a live round, Palestinian medics said.
But that has failed to stop the violence.
The district chief of police, Deputy Commissioner Yoram Levi, told Haaretz: “One armed terrorist entered the central bus station and shot at a soldier and killed him”. Police said when an officer approached to treat the attacker, he pulled out a second knife and attempted to attack him. The attacker was quickly shot. The stabbing attacks seem to be opportunistic and although they have been praised by militant groups, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said Palestinians are not interested in a further escalation. Israeli military officials are describing the assaults as suicide attacks, carried out with little or no hope of escape.
Footage posted on Twitter appeared to capture the scene inside the bus station as the shooting occurred, with multiple gunshots ringing out as a large crowd panicked and ducked for cover.
Joseph’s Tomb is revered by Jews, Muslims, Christians and Samaritans.
He left New York on Thursday night for the Holy Land amid weeks of escalating violence prompted by Palestinian knife attacks.
In East Jerusalem, the five metre-high concrete slabs were lowered into place between the Palestinian neighbourhood of Jebel Mukaber and the Jewish area of Armon Hanatziv. Soldiers have been deployed in Jerusalem and cities across Israel.
The Israeli military removed dozens of Jewish worshipers Sunday who clashed with Palestinians after illegally entering a biblical shrine in the West Bank that was recently torched by Palestinians.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri says Sunday the slabs were placed there for security reasons, without elaborating. Israel limited access to the site in September after reportedly learning that Palestinians planned to “disturb public order” there, the Middle East Monitor reported. “It’s one more aspect of our security measures”. Black lettering in Hebrew at the bottom of the slabs read “temporary mobile police barrier”.
Palestinians said the roadblocks are collective punishment and ineffective in deterring attackers since those with bad intentions would try to reach Jewish neighborhoods through dirt roads anyway.
Abbas has been under pressure over recent comments that a few have labeled incitement and has called for peaceful protests without explicitly condemning the violence. The areas are considered occupied territory by the Palestinians and most countries.
Eight Israelis have died in attacks by lone Palestinians this month.
The unrest and stabbing attacks or attempts on Saturday came as the violence raised fears of a full-scale Palestinian uprising.
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Palestinians are also angry at increasing violence by illegal Israeli settlers, who frequently storm al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there to avoid provoking tensions, and Netanyahu has said repeatedly he has no intention of changing the rules.
