Palestinian teen tries to stab soldier in Hebron, wounds local man, is shot dead

17-year-old girl pulls knife on troops, moderately injures local Palestinian who tries to stop her; soldier very lightly wounded

By ToI Staff 13 February 2016, 1:21 pm Edit

The site where a Palestinian woman tried to stab an Israeli soldier before being shot dead, in Hebron, on February 13, 2016 (AFP / HAZEM BADER)

A Palestinian girl, 17, was shot and killed by Israeli army forces when she pulled out a knife and attempted to stab a soldier Saturday at a military post in the West Bank city of Hebron, the IDF said.

The soldier sustained very minor injuries and did not require medical assistance.

A 30-year-old Palestinian man was also moderately injured in the incident, apparently after the woman stabbed him by mistake.

The Palestinian man, who had attempted to stop the assailant from attacking the soldier, was given medical aid at the scene and then rushed to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem for further treatment.

According to an initial investigation by the army, the attacker, identified as Caliazar Muhammad Abed Alhalim Alawiwi, hid the knife in a plastic bag before approaching soldiers deployed near the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city.

Hebron has been one of the centers of Palestinian terrorism and violence against Israeli troops and civilians in an upsurge of attacks since October 2015.