Palestinian tries to stab Israeli soldiers in West Bank, shot dead: army

JERUSALEM: Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who tried to stab them in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, and the Palestinian health ministry confirmed a Palestinian had been killed. The Israeli military said the soldiers had been under immediate threat from the Palestinian when they opened fire on him. A wave of Palestinian street attacks that began in October 2015 has slowed in recent months but not stopped. At least 253 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since the violence began. Israel says at least 171 of those killed were carrying out attacks while others died during clashes and protests. Thirty-eight Israelis, two American tourists and a British student have been killed in Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car-rammings. Israel blames the violence on incitement by the Palestinian leadership, while the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, says desperation over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians for a state is the cause. US-brokered peace talks between the sides broke down in 2014. Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. US President Donald Trump has vowed to try and reach a “historic deal” between the sides. His Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt met Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was due in the region on Wednesday.