(JTA) — Israeli troops shot and killed a young Palestinian man they said was planning to stab Israelis near the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank.
His name was not immediately released for publication, the Maan news agency reported Friday. Earlier in the day, Israeli police reported that two Palestinian minors were detained near the entrance to the industrial zone of Shaare Binyamin northeast of Jerusalem for carrying knives.
Israeli police spokeswoman, Luba al-Samri said that Israeli troops spotted two youths exiting a car with Palestinian plates in the area.
On Thursday night, Israeli forces detained nine Palestinians in a series of raids across the West Bank, in the villages of Silat al-Thahr near Jenin, Habla in the northern district of Qalqiliya and the al-Jalazun refugee camp in the central West Bank district of Ramallah.
The raids followed an attack Thursday in the West Bank city of Ariel by two Palestinians who stabbed an Israeli soldier there, wounding her moderately. They were shot and killed by other soldiers, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Last month, the Shin Bet security agency recorded a total of 154 terror attacks committed in Israel and the West Bank by Palestinians against Israelis, the agency wrote in its monthly report.
Attacks in February resulted in the deaths of three victims and the wounding of 11 — a decrease from the slaying of five victims and the wounding of 28 in January.
The casualties in February were the lowest monthly total recorded since July, when 103 attacks were observed.
Attacks began increasing in August, when 171 attacks were documented, and rose sharply in September and October, with 223 and 620 attacks recorded in those months respectively.
