Palestinian shot after trying to stab soldier by Cave of the Patriarchs

A Palestinian who tried to stab an Israeli soldier near a sensitive holy site in the West Bank city of Hebron has been shot, the Israeli army said.

The army would not elaborate on the condition of the Palestinian, but the soldier was unharmed.

The army said the attack took place near a site known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, the traditional burial spot of the biblical Abraham and his family.

Earlier, the Israeli military said a Palestinian stabbed and severely wounded an Israeli soldier near Hebron before being shot and killed.

There have been almost daily Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings, against Israeli civilians and security forces in recent weeks.

Ten Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, while 51 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 30 said by Israel to be attackers and the rest in clashes.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official said that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a “review” of the status of certain Palestinian neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem – an effort that could affect the residency rights of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The official said Mr Netanyahu recently ordered the review of Jerusalem neighbourhoods that lie outside of Israel‘s West Bank separation barrier. One-third of the city’s Palestinians, up to 100,000 people, live outside the barrier.

The review comes at a time of deadly unrest between Israelis and Palestinians, much of it in east Jerusalem. The Israeli official said these neighbourhoods suffer from “lawlessness”, and a “serious discussion” is needed. 

The vast majority of the city’s Palestinians hold residency rights, but not citizenship. Stripping them of residency would affect their ability to work and travel inside Israel, and prevent them from access to health care and social services.

Any Israeli attempt to remove residency rights would likely generate an international uproar.