RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) – Israeli forces shot a female Palestinian attacker after she attempted to stab a soldier at a West Bank checkpoint on Tuesday, the military said, as tensions continued to simmer ahead of this week’s major Jewish and Muslim holidays.
The military said forces opened fire and “identified a hit” following the incident in the West Bank city of Hebron. The woman’s condition was not immediately known, although the military said she was taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment. The soldier was not wounded.
The woman was identified as 18-year-old university student Hadeel al-Hashlamon. Her father, Salah al-Hashlamon, said she was in critical condition at an Israeli hospital but had no further details.
Earlier Tuesday, the military said a Palestinian was found dead in a village near Hebron allegedly after an explosive device he was handling went off. The military said it arrived in the area to respond to rock throwing. The Palestinians said the circumstances behind the man’s death were unclear.
The violence comes amid rising tensions surrounding Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The site, holy to both Jews and Muslims, has been a flashpoint for violence in recent days.