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Photos:
Scene: Maan News
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by Gili Cohen for Haaretz

An Israeli military officer was wounded in a stabbing attack near the West Bank town of Har Ebal, near Nablus. The assailant was shot and critically wounded at the scene.

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Palestinian reports say the man who was shot after he stabbed an IDF officer near Nablus was Haitham Abdul-Jaleel, 31, a resident of the West Bank village of Asira ash-Shamaliya, near Nablus.

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NABLUS (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian was shot and killed on Thursday after a stabbing attack at an Israeli military checkpoint north of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, Israel’s army and media said.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that an assailant attacked a military vehicle before stabbing and injuring an officer when the forces exited the vehicle.

Israeli forces then opened fire on the assailant in response, killing him on site, according to Israeli media, which reported that a soldier was “very lightly injured."

The attack took place at a flying checkpoint set up by Israeli forces nearby the Palestinian village of Asira ash-Shamaliya, hometown of the alleged attacker who was identified by locals as Haitham Mahmoud Abd al-Jalil, 31.

Al-Jalil's body was reportedly transferred from Israeli authorities to Palestinian Civil Affairs officials in Nablus shortly after the incident.

Hours before, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian near the Beit Einun junction northeast of Hebron after an alleged stab attempt.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that a Palestinian attempted to stab Israeli soldiers stationed near the junction, who responded by opening fire on the alleged assailant.

Witnesses told Ma'an that Israeli military forces prevented Palestinian Red Crescent medics from accessing the shot Palestinian for medical treatment. The man was identified as Muayyad Awni Jabbarin, 20, by his father, who arrived to the scene following his death.

Thursday’s deaths bring the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces over the last week to 12.

Last Thursday marked a particularly deadly day, with four Palestinians shot dead in two separate incidents after Israel's army said they attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at the Gush Etzion and Beit Einun junctions. No Israelis were injured in either reported attack.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response said the deaths marked a “dangerous escalation" and condemned the “continuous series of crimes and field executions by Netanyahu’s government against Palestinians."

Investigations into a number of recent Palestinian deaths concluded that Israeli policy implemented since the increase in attacks has resulted in unnecessary Palestinian deaths, according to international rights group Amnesty International.