3 with knives, 1 victim killed in West Bank

JERUSALEM — A young Israeli woman was stabbed to death by a Palestinian who was among three assailants to be shot dead following separate attacks Sunday, Israeli security forces said, with the latest flare-up of violence coming ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The 21-year-old Israeli woman was stabbed numerous times when a Palestinian attacked her with a knife in the West Bank on Sunday afternoon before the assailant was shot and killed by soldiers nearby, the military said.

In an earlier attack, the military said a 16-year-old girl pulled out a knife at the entrance to a military base and began approaching civilians. A local West Bank settler leader, Gershon Mesika, said he veered off the road and struck her with his vehicle. A soldier then fired at her and killed her. The army did not say how close the teenager had been to carrying out an attack or release a video of the incident.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, a Palestinian driving a taxi cab tried to run over Israelis east of Jerusalem, police said. After crashing his car, he emerged with a knife and tried to stab people, but was shot dead by a bystander before he could harm anyone. Israeli politicians have encouraged licensed gun owners to carry their weapons during the latest wave of unrest.

Sunday’s attacks came two days before Kerry is scheduled to arrive in an attempt to calm tensions stemming from a two-month wave of violence that shows no signs of dissipating. It will mark his first visit to the area to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in more than a year.