Knife, car attacks in West Bank wound 6, attackers shot

Jerusalem: Car-ramming and stabbing attacks wounded six Israelis in the West Bank today while two alleged Palestinian assailants were shot, authorities said, the latest in a weeks-long wave of violence.

While violence had waned somewhat in recent days, the new attacks signalled that knife, gun and car assaults that began at the start of October were set to continue despite tough Israeli security measures.

The latest unrest came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington on today to meet US President Barack Obama.

In the first incident, a Palestinian rammed a group of Israelis with a car at a junction, wounding four of them, and was then killed by security forces, police said.

The alleged attacker was said to have driven the car into an area south of Nablus where Israelis typically gather to hitch rides. A checkpoint is located nearby and Israeli border police opened fire.

Israeli public radio described two of the injured as in a serious condition.

Later, a Palestinian woman stabbed a security guard near a West Bank settlement and was shot by the victim, the Israeli police and army said.

The incident occurred at the entrance to the Beitar Illit settlement south of Jerusalem. A hospital spokeswoman described the woman's condition as serious and said she was being treated in intensive care.

The third incident saw an Israeli settler stabbed while shopping in the West Bank village of Nabi Ilyas, with two alleged Palestinian assailants fleeing afterwards, the Israeli defence ministry said.

The victim, aged around 50, was stabbed in the stomach but managed to drive to a nearby checkpoint and was taken for medical treatment, authorities said. He lives in the Immanuel settlement in the West Bank.