A Jordanian man was shot dead after he tried to stab police officers in Jerusalem today, while in the West Bank, one Palestinian attacker was killed and another wounded after the pair rammed their vehicle into a bus stop. A third Palestinian was shot and killed after he tried to stab a soldier, Israeli officials said.
The assaults were the latest violence in a year of Palestinian attacks that at times were near-daily occurrences but have lately been on the decline. The multiple attacks today came after weeks of relative calm.
In the first incident, a man came out of Jerusalem's walled Old City brandishing a knife in each hand, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.
He then waved the knives in the air and shouted "Allahu akbar" or "God is Great" in Arabic as he rushed at the officers. They opened fire and killed him, Samri said. The man had both a Jordanian and a Palestinian ID on him, she said.
Shortly afterward, two Palestinians rammed their car into a bus stop, wounding three Israeli civilians, the military said. It said forces at the scene opened fire, killing one of the Palestinians and wounding the other. The attack took place near Kiryat Arba, a settlement near the West Bank city of Hebron.
The three Israelis and the wounded attacker were taken to hospital.
A few hours later, at a junction near Hebron, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli soldier who opened fire and killed him, the military said.
About 850 Israeli settlers live in heavily-guarded enclaves in Hebron, surrounded by tens of thousands of Palestinians. Much of the animosity in the biblical city is over a holy site known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Many of the Palestinian attackers involved in the violence that erupted last September came from Hebron.
The yearlong wave of Palestinian assaults on Israeli civilians and security forces has killed 34 Israelis and two Americans. About 213 Palestinians have also died during that same time; Israel says the majority were attackers.
Israel blames the violence on a campaign of incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks.
Palestinians say it is rooted in decades of living under military rule and fading hopes for independence.
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