Israeli woman stabbed to death inside West Bank home

Occupied Jerusalem - The attacker broke into the house and stabbed the victim to death.

A Palestinian militant broke into a West Bank Jewish settlement on Sunday and stabbed a woman to death in her home, the Israeli army said, the first such incursion in a months-long wave of violence.
"A terrorist murdered a civilian in her home in the community of Otniel," south of Hebron, a military statement said.
"The attacker broke into the house and stabbed the victim to death. Forces are in pursuit of the terrorist."
Palestinians in neighbouring villages said a major manhunt was under way, with army helicopters in the sky and heavy movement of military vehicles.
Troops launched drones to help in the search and fired flares into the night sky, army radio reported.
Public radio named the dead woman as Dafna Meir, 38, a hospital nurse and mother of six.
Other media said that her three youngest children were at home when the killing took place but were unharmed.
A paramedic living in Otniel who rushed to the murder scene confirmed there were children there but did not say how many or give their ages.
"We found a woman lying unconscious, not breathing and with no pulse, with stab wounds to her upper body," a statement from the emergency services quoted the man, Chaim Rubin, as saying.
"We made sure that someone took the children into another room."
Shortly after the attack Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called the head of the Jewish council for the area including Otniel.
"This is a horrific tragedy, and I am with you with all of my heart," Reuven's office quoted him as telling council leader Yochai Damari.
"This is shocking and terrible," he added.
It was the latest bloodshed in more than three months of attacks but the first in the current wave of violence to take place inside a settlement home.
It brought the toll to 24 Israelis and 155 Palestinians killed since October 1.
Many of the Palestinians killed have been alleged attackers, while others have been shot dead by Israeli forces during protests and clashes.
Otniel is located near the city of Hebron in the south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hebron, where several hundred Israeli settlers live in the city centre among around 200,000 Palestinians, has been a flashpoint in a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks that began in October.
Israel's government has come under heavy pressure over the spate of attacks, and Sunday's killing was likely to further boost tensions.
"We will not rest until we settle accounts with the terrorist, wherever he is," said Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon.
"Today's murder at Otniel teaches us yet again what a cruel enemy we are up against," he said in a statement.
Some analysts say the attacks have been in part driven by frustration with the complete lack of progress in peace efforts, Israel's occupation of the West Bank and their own fractured Palestinian leadership.
Israel says incitement, by Palestinian leaders and news media, has been a main cause of the violence.

• MENA