Israeli fatally stabbed by Palestinian

TEL AVIV: A Palestinian fatally stabbed an Israeli man near the entrance to a mall in the occupied West Bank yesterday before being shot by a civilian.

No details were immediately provided on the identity of the Israeli, whose death was confirmed in a statement from Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek medical centre.

Israeli media reported that he was 40.

Official Palestinian news agency WAFA described the attacker as a “young man” from the West Bank village of Yatta.

It said he was not severely wounded.

The incident took place at the Gush Etzion Junction south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, according to Israel’s military, which provided the details of the stabbing.

Video footage shared on social media purportedly showed the assailant approaching an older man near the mall entrance and stabbing him. He is then pursued by civilians and shot nearby.

There is regular friction between Israelis and Palestinians at the junction, which lies near a major Israeli settlement bloc.

There are concerns that tensions between Israelis and Palestinians will increase this month as Jews celebrate their holidays and pay more visits to holy sites.