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(MaanImages/Charlie Hoyle, File)
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HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday shot a Palestinian near an Israeli military checkpoint at the entrance of al-Shuhada street in Hebron’s Old City after she attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.
Witnesses told Ma'an that a 35-year-old woman from a Hebron-area village attempted to stab a soldier before she was shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet.

According to witnesses, a young Palestinian man approached the woman and attempted to help her but was prevented when he was also shot by a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics then gave the woman medical treatment on site before she was taken into custody by Israeli soldiers, witnesses added.

Israeli media reported that the woman was in moderate to serious condition after being shot.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the incident but told Ma’an they were still investigating details of the attempted attack.

The attack attempt is the latest to take place in the occupied Palestinian territory, where an escalation of violence that kicked off in October has continued full-fledged into December.

Hebron’s Old City has been at the epicenter of the recent tensions, where Israeli forces last week shot and injured 16-year-old Lama Munthir Hafith al-Bakri northeast of Hebron’s Old City after the army said she attempted to stab an Israeli pedestrian.

Palestinian residents of the Hebron governorate have remained under severe restrictions on movement for several weeks.

Routes leading from Hebron-area villages to main traffic arteries have either been entirely blocked to vehicular movement or are controlled by flying checkpoints manned by Israeli military forces, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Hebron’s Old City was meanwhile declared a closed military zone last month, with entrance only allowed to Palestinian residents of the Israeli-controlled H2 area as well as Israeli settlers that live in illegal settlements across the area.

Hundreds of Palestinians from across the Hebron district last week protested for the return of the bodies of 21 Palestinians who were killed by Israeli military or settlers.

Israeli authorities have withheld the bodies of suspected attackers from the families, sparking outrage especially among Hebron communities.