Israel: Palestinian shot, killed in alleged stabbing attempt

Israeli military says the man got out of a car at a junction and advanced toward a group of Israeli civilians and soldiers

Israeli soldiers gather at the site of an attempted stabbing attack at a junction near the settlement of Giti Avishar in the West Bank. — AP

By AP

Published: Fri 31 Dec 2021, 5:02 PM

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man as he ran toward a bus stop in the occupied West Bank on Friday wielding a knife in an attempted stabbing attack, the military said.

It said Amir Atef Reyan got out of a car at a junction and advanced toward a group of Israeli civilians and soldiers waiting at the bus stop. He was shot before reaching them. The Palestinian Health Ministry later confirmed that Reyan died from his wounds.

Photos and videos published online show the Palestinian lying face down at a junction near an Israeli settlement before being taken away in an ambulance. The Israeli military also released a photo of the knife.

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The alleged attack comes amid an uptick in stabbings against Israeli citizens. Earlier this month, an ultra-Orthodox Jew was seriously wounded after being stabbed by a Palestinian man just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. The attacker was shot dead by Israeli police.

Settler violence against Palestinians has also intensified in recent weeks after a Jewish settler was shot and killed by a Palestinian gunman in the northern West Bank. The killing ignited a string of settler retaliation attacks that left at least four Palestinians moderately wounded and sparked a series of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces.