Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

4 Palestinians Shot Dead in 2 Stab Attacks on Israeli Soldiers

JERUSALEM – Israeli security forces on Thursday shot dead four Palestinians who launched two separate stabbing attacks in the occupied West Bank, the military said, as a surge in street violence entered its fourth month.

The first attack occurred at Gush Etzion Junction, the scene of many similar recent incidents. Three Palestinians attacked a group of soldiers with knives, the army said in a statement, and the “forces thwarted (the) attack and shot (the) assailants.”

Shortly after, at an Israeli checkpoint near the city of Hebron, a Palestinian tried to stab a soldier and was shot and killed, the army said.

No soldiers were injured in either incident.

Stabbings, car-rammings and shootings by Palestinians have killed 21 Israelis and a U.S. citizen since the start of October.

Israeli forces or armed civilians have killed at least 137 Palestinians in the same period, 87 of whom authorities described as assailants. Most of the others have been killed in clashes with security forces.

Commentators say the surge in attacks has been fueled by the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks in 2014, the growth of Jewish settlements on land Palestinians want for a future state and Islamist calls for the destruction of Israel.

Also stoking the violence has been Muslim opposition to increased Israeli access to Jerusalem’s al Aqsa mosque complex, which is the third holiest site in Islam and is also revered in Judaism as the location of two biblical temples.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.