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The scene of a suspected car-ramming attack at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank on Friday, March 4, 2016. Credit: (Israeli) National Fire and Rescue Group. Published by Haaretz

A knife was found in the car of the Palestinian assailant in Friday's car-ramming attack at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank. Credit: IDF Spokesman's Office. Published by Haaretz

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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot dead a 34-year-old Palestinian woman on Friday morning after she allegedly rammed her car into an Israeli soldier stationed at the Gush Etzion junction in the southern occupied West Bank.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that after the woman hit the soldier with her car, Israeli forces "responded to the imminent threat" by shooting and killing her.

The spokesperson said the soldier was evacuated to hospital, although she was unable to confirm his condition.

She alleged that a knife was found in the woman's car.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health later identified the woman as 34-year-old Amani Husni Sabatin from the nearby village of Husan in western Bethlehem.

The head of Husan's village council, Hasan Hamamreh, told Ma'an that Israeli forces had sealed the eastern and western entrances of the village following Sabatin's death.

He rejected the army's allegations that she had attempted to carry out an attack, saying her death was an "obvious execution" that continues Israel's crimes and violations against Palestinians.
Hamamreh said Sabatin was married and the mother of four children, the eldest of whom is a 14-year-old daughter. Her husband works in Israel.

He added that the Israeli authorities had summoned Sabatin's husband, father, and brother to the Etzion detention center to identify her body.

It was not clear when her body would be released for her funeral.
The Gush Etzion junction -- the entrance point to the illegal Gush Etzion settlement bloc -- has seen numerous deadly encounters since a surge of violence shook the occupied Palestinian territory at the beginning of October last year.

Around 180 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis have now been killed across the occupied territory and Israel since then.

While Israel alleges many of those were attempting to attack Israelis when they were shot, Palestinians and rights groups have disputed Israel's version of events in a number of cases.

Rights groups have also repeatedly condemned Israeli forces for the unnecessary use of lethal force against Palestinians who did not pose an imminent threat at the time of their death.
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by Gili Cohen for Haaretz

An Israeli man in his early 20s was lightly wounded in a stabbing in Jerusalem's Old City Friday evening, according to Magen David Adom emergency responders. 
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Just hours earlier, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in a car-ramming attack in the West Bank on Friday morning.

The soldier was hit by a car at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank.

Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived at the scene treated the soldier, and are evacuating him to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, an MDA official said.

The female Palestinian driver was shot and killed at the scene, according to the IDF. A knife was found in the car.

Palestinian sources identified the driver as Amani Hosni Sabateen, 34, from the village of Husan near Bethlehem. Residents of the village told Haaretz that it doesn’t make sense that Sabateen, a wife and mother of four, would carry out an attack.

Hassan Hamara, the head of Husan's local council, said that the IDF has blocked two entrances to the village, and that Sabateen's husband, father and brother were taken for questioning.