OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli troops Friday shot dead a Palestinian man who attempted to stab soldiers and civilians at a bus stop in the occupied West Bank, the military said.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the death of the alleged assailant, identifying him as Amir Atef Rayyan.

The army said the attempted stabbing took place near the Gitain Avisar junction in the West Bank.

The Palestinian, it said, approached a military post in a car “and got out of the vehicle armed with a knife”.

The man “ran towards the bus station where civilians and IDF soldiers were standing. The troops fired towards the assailant and neutralised him”, the army added.

An army spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the Palestinian was dead.

The army said there were no injuries among the Israelis.

Troops sealed off roads in the area while others chased the vehicle that had dropped off the alleged assailant, looking for more suspects.

According to the Israeli army’s annual report, 100 attacks were carried out in 2021 against Israelis in the West Bank, up from 60 a year earlier.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 410 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the first 10 months of 2021, compared to 358 in the whole of 2020.

The latest attack came after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas made a rare visit Wednesday to Israel for talks with Defence Minister Benny Gantz.

After the talks at Gantz’s home, Israel unveiled a package of “confidence-building measures” for the West Bank.