Israeli troops kill Palestinian attack suspect in West Bank

Israel has seen a series of shootings, stabbings and car-ramming attacks in recent years, mostly carried out by lone Palestinian attackers in the West Bank with no apparent links to armed groups.

Jerusalem:Israeli troops on Tuesday shot and killed a Palestinian suspected of trying to attack soldiers at a West Bank intersection, the military said.

The Israeli army said the incident occurred near the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank.

In a video released by the military, a female soldier identified as “Cpl. L” said she was on guard duty when an assailant “with a knife in hand jumped on top of her.”

She said she fended him off by pushing him and hitting him several times with her gun. She said the attacker then attempted to stab her and her commander before the commander shot him with a single bullet.

The video showed only the back of the soldier and no photos or video of the incident were immediately available. The army said no soldiers were wounded.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the alleged attacker as Atallah Mohammad Riyan, a 17-year-old resident of the nearby village of Qarawat Bani Hassan.

Palestinian and Israeli rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force in some instances, and of killing some suspected attackers who could have been apprehended.

AP

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