'Terrorist' shot after stabbing Israeli soldier

An assailant believed to be Palestinian stabbed and wounded an Israeli officer in a West Bank settlement early yesterday before being shot by forces at the scene, the army said.

Both were evacuated to the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, which said the perpetrator was in moderate condition after suffering a gunshot to his head, while the soldier had been stabbed in his armpit.

It was the fifth attack on Israeli security forces or civilians since Friday after a three-week lull in a nearly year-long wave of violence.

The Israeli army announced on Saturday it was deploying an additional battalion to reinforce the Hebron area following the uptick in violence around the city.

The wave of violence since last October has killed 227 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, one Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP count.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since capturing it in the Six-Day War of 1967.