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Palestinian knife attacker dies after being shot by Israeli troops

Video shows 15-year-old girl being taunted as she lies on ground after being shot outside illegal Mevo Dotan settlement
Footage of her death circulated online, prompting widespread condemnation (screengrab)

A teenage Palestinian girl shot by Israeli troops after she stabbed a soldier in the occupied West Bank died of her wounds on Friday, Israel's military and medical staff said.

The 15-year-old was shot at the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Mevo Dotan on Thursday after striking and lightly wounding a soldier with a knife, an Israeli army statement said.

Footage uploaded to the internet showed the girl lying injured on a pavement as illegal settlers taunted and shouted insults.

According to activists, it took an hour for an ambulance to arrive.

The girl was identified by official Palestinian news agency Wafa as Nawaf Infiaat from the northern West Bank town of Yaabad. A spokeswoman for the Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in central Israel said she had been treated at overnight but died of her injuries early on Friday.

The Israeli soldier she stabbed was treated in the same hospital.

At least 247 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since a wave of sporadic violence began in 2015 in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Israel says at least 167 of those killed were carrying out stabbings, shootings or car-ramming attacks. Others died during clashes and protests.

Thirty-seven Israelis, two American tourists and a British student have been killed in the violence, which has slowed in recent months but not stopped.

Israel says the Palestinian leadership is inciting the violence.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, denies incitement and says that in many cases, Israel has used excessive force in thwarting attackers armed with rudimentary weapons.

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