MIDEAST 2 attackers killed as violence rises across West Bank

JERUSALEM — Two Palestinians were killed Monday as they tried to stab Israeli police in the West Bank city of Hebron while a third Palestinian was shot and wounded after stabbing and wounding two Israeli police officers in Jerusalem, police said.

The two attacks followed a bloody weekend in which four Palestinians were killed while attacking Israelis, according to Israeli authorities, raising fears of a return to the neardaily Palestinian attacks seen at times over the past year.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that in Hebron, two assailants tried to stab soldiers guarding a checkpoint, lightly wounding one officer before the troops opened fire, killing the attackers. The officers were securing a holy site known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Earlier Monday, a Palestinian stabbed two Israeli police officers outside Jerusalem’s Old City before being shot and critically wounded, Samri said. A 38-year-old female police officer suffered wounds to her neck. A second officer, age 47, was recovering from injuries. Samri said the assailant is a resident of east Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem attack occurred outside Herod’s Gate, near a bustling commercial avenue of east Jerusalem. Police ordered the shops in the area closed Monday.

Since last September, Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis in stabbing, car ramming and shooting attacks. About 216 Palestinians have been killed in the same period. Israel says most were attackers, but the Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force and killing people who were not assailants.

The spike in violence over the weekend spurred the Israeli military to send troop reinforcements to the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the potential for violence could rise as the Jewish high holidays approach.

Israel has blamed the violence on incitement by Palestinian leaders. The Palestinians say it is rooted in nearly 50 years of military occupation and dwindling hopes for independence.

Mahmoud Illean / Associated Press Israeli border officers search a Palestinian man near the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. Two officers were injured, and the attacker was shot and wounded.