Palestinian attempts knife attack, shot dead

A Palestinian tried to attack Israeli soldiers with a knife in the West Bank yesterday and was shot dead, the army said, the latest incident in more than two-months of violence.

"During routine security activity in Hawwara, forces spotted a suspect and approached in order to question him," the army said in a statement of the incident near Nablus in an area where Israeli settlers and Palestinians cross a military checkpoint.

It said the man ran towards the soldiers, who opened fire, "resulting in his death."

Palestinian security sources said Israeli authorities had taken the body of the attacker, as has occurred regularly.

Members of his family identified him as 15-year-old Abdullah Nassara. He had been to school that morning for an exam, which he attended, but never returned, his family said.

Violence since the start of October has killed 120 on the Palestinian side, 17 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean.

Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers, while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes.

Those carrying out stabbings have often been young Palestinians, including teenagers, who appear to be acting on their own.

A number of them have attempted attacks with kitchen knives in what some analysts have described as de facto suicide missions.

Palestinians have grown frustrated with Israel's occupation, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership, while international efforts to restore calm have so far failed.