(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Two Palestinians in the West Bank stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier yesterday and were shot dead by troops, the army said, the latest in a three-month wavhe Palestinian health ministry said that the assailants were Mohamed Sabaaneh, aged 17, and Nur Eddine Sabaaneh, 23, from Qabatia near Jenin in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The incident, in Huwara in the northern West Bank, was the second of the day. Earlier a Palestinian stabbed and moderately wounded a soldier in Jerusalem before he was arrested.
"Forces on site responded to the imminent danger and fired towards the attackers, resulting in their death. An initial inquiry suggests an additional soldier was injured as a result of the fire directed towards the attackers," the military said in a statement.
A wave of violence since the start of October has claimed the lives of 135 people on the Palestinian side, 19 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean.
Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes.
In yesterday's Huwara incident, the army said a second soldier may have been hit by fire from his own side but it was still investigating.
The Israeli rescue service said it took two soldiers to hospital, one moderately wounded and one lightly, but it did not describe their injuries.
A number of Palestinians have attempted attacks with kitchen knives in what some analysts have described as virtual suicide missions.
The surge in violence has been fuelled by Palestinians' frustration over Israel's 48-year occupation of land they seek for an independent state, and the expansion of settlements in those territories which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Palestinian leaders say a younger generation sees no hope for the future living under Israeli security restrictions and with a stifled economy. The latest round of US-brokered peace talks collapsed in April 2014 after nine months of fruitless meetings amid bitter recriminations and mutual blame.
Violence has also been triggered by Muslim anger over stepped-up Israeli visits to Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque complex.
Israeli leaders say Islamist groups who call for the destruction of Israel have played a major role in inciting the recent violence.
Pope Francis, the leader of the world's 1.2bn Catholics, used his traditional Christmas Day address to urge Israelis and Palestinians to resume "direct dialogue", saying the conflict had "serious repercussions" on the Middle East.
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