Knife, car attacks in West Bank wound 5, attackers shot

Latest violence comes as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to leave for US to meet President Barack Obama

JERUSALEM: A car-ramming attack and a stabbing wounded five Israelis in the West Bank on Sunday while the two alleged assailants were shot, authorities said, the latest in a weeks-long wave of violence.

In the first incident, a Palestinian rammed a group of Israelis with a car at a junction, wounding four of them, and was then killed by security forces, police said.



The alleged attacker was said to have driven the car into an area south of Nablus where Israelis typically gather to hitch rides. A checkpoint is located nearby and Israeli border police opened fire. Israeli public radio described two of the wounded as in a serious condition.

Later, a Palestinian woman stabbed a security guard near a West Bank settlement and was shot by the victim, the Israeli police and army said. The incident occurred at the entrance to the Beitar Illit settlement south of Jerusalem. The fate of the woman was not immediately clear.

A wave of knife, gun and car attacks have hit Israel and the Palestinian territories since the start of October. The violence has left 73 Palestinians dead, around half of them alleged attackers. Nine Israelis have also been killed as well as one Arab Israeli.

Violent protests have also erupted in annexed east Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Unrest has waned somewhat in recent days, though sporadic attacks have continued.

The latest violence came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to leave for Washington on Sunday to meet US President Barack Obama.

The meeting will be centred on US defence aid to Israel following the July nuclear accord between major powers and Iran, but the recent Israeli-Palestinian violence is also expected to be discussed.



At the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said he will speak with Obama about "possible progress with the Palestinians, or at least stabilising the situation with them, and, of course, strengthening the security of the state of Israel".