Palestinian woman shot dead after stabbing attack in Hebron

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian woman as she attempted to stab a soldier in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday, the army said in a statement.

"An assailant drew a knife and attempted to stab a soldier," the army said. "Responding to the attack, forces fired at the perpetrator, resulting in her death."

Palestinian hospital officials named her as 17-year-old Kalzar al-Uweiwi.

Palestinian security sources said Israel passed her body to Hebron hospital so she could be buried by her family.

The army statement said that Saturday's incident occurred near Hebron's shared religious site known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, a site of frequent friction between the sides.

Hebron is a regular flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with several hundred Jewish settlers living in the heart of the city under heavy military guard among around 200,000 Palestinians.

A large number of alleged knife and gun attacks by Palestinians since the current wave of unrest began last October have taken place in the city.

Since then, at least 167 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Most were killed after allegedly carrying out attacks with knives or guns, but others died during clashes and demonstrations.

The violence has claimed the lives of 26 Israelis, as well as an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP count.