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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian man was shot dead after stabbing two Israeli soldiers on route 60 Wednesday morning, Israel's army said.

The suspect was identified as Muhammad Jasser Abdullah Kararah, 27, from the Sinjel village in the Ramallah district, according to security and local sources.

The soldiers were stabbed at the Sinjil junction near the Shilo settlement in the central West Bank, an Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an.

One soldier, 20, was critically injured after being stabbed in the neck; the other received minor injuries and then opened fire at the Palestinian male, who sustained critical injuries before being pronounced dead.

Israeli army forces and ambulances arrived to the area giving first aid to the soldiers, who were taken in a helicopter to hospital for treatment.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli forces also raided several areas surrounding Ramallah including Sinjil, Turmusayya, al-Luban al-Sharqiya, and al-Luban al-Gharbiya.

Israeli forces detained seven Palestinian youths and took them to identify the suspect's body, but none were able to identify him, witnesses said.

The suspect was not been carrying an ID card.

Some of the youths taken to identify the body said the suspect was injured with a bullet in the head, and that there was a "clean knife with no blood on it" next to him.

Sources at the Palestinian liaison identified the suspect and said that Israel is still holding his body.

The attack comes less than one week after an Israeli soldier was stabbed near the Oranit checkpoint in southern Qalqiliya last Thursday. The soldier was lightly injured and the Palestinian male reportedly detained.

Last week's stabbing was the first attack on Israeli military or civilians since early March when a Palestinian man drove his vehicle into a group of border police standing in front of an Israeli border police station between East and West Jerusalem, striking five people.

In the same time period, meanwhile, Israeli forces have shot and killed two Palestinians and injured around 170 Palestinians, the majority during attacks on protests as well as during raids, according to the United Nations.

The figure does not include attacks by Israeli settlers.

AFP contributed to this report.