Israeli Woman Stabbed to Death, 3 Attackers Killed
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Date: 11/22/2015 6:21:17 PM
Sender: VOA
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Israeli emergency services evacuate the body of a Palestinian from the scene of an attack near the West Bank Gush Etzion settlements, Nov. 22, 2015.
An Israeli woman was stabbed to death and three Palestinian attackers were killed in a series of incidents Sunday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The 21-year-old woman was stabbed numerous times in the head and chest when a Palestinian attacked her before he was shot and killed by soldiers nearby, the military said.
In an earlier attack, the military said a woman pulled out a knife at a military base entrance and began approaching civilians. A local West Bank settler said he veered his vehicle off the road and struck the woman. A soldier then fired at her and killed her.
The eight week surge in street violence has challenged Israel＇s security system and alarmed the United States, whose Secretary of State John Kerry is due to visit the region this week.
During the past two months, 83 Palestinians have been killed, some while carrying out attacks and others in clashes with Israeli forces, while 19 Israelis and an American student have been killed in Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings.
The wave of violence began over tensions surrounding a sensitive Jerusalem holy site and has since spread across Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza border.
Israel says the current violence is due to a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement surrounding the holy site, which is revered by Muslims and Jews. The Palestinians say the violence is rooted in frustration over nearly a half-century of occupation and they accuse Israel of using excessive force to suppress the unrest.
The U.S. State Department said Kerry would begin his Nov. 22-24 Middle East visit in Abu Dhabi, after which he would come to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
A senior U.S. official said Kerry would discuss ways of trying to stem the violence but would not try to renew negotiations on a state that Palestinians seek in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. |
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