Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces in two separate incidents in the West Bank on Sunday, after they allegedly tried to stab Israelis. According to a military statement, a Palestinian 16-year-old girl carried out one of the attacks at a junction south of Nablus, saying that "forces and a bystander responded to the immediate threat, shooting the attacker." Palestinian security officials confirmed she had died of her wounds. Later, a Palestinian man was shot dead after allegedly attempting to ram into Israeli civilians and charging at them with a knife at a junction near Jericho, according to Israeli police. The statement read: "A Palestinian man at Kfar Adumim junction in a Palestinian taxi tried to run over civilians. When he failed he exited the car with a knife and attempted to stab. The terrorist was shot by a civilian and died of his wounds." There was no report of any serious injuries on the Israeli side. On Saturday, Israeli police also arrested a Palestinian who allegedly stabbed four Israelis in the Southern city of Kiryat Gat. They identified the alleged assailant as 18-year-old Mohammad Tarda from a village near the West Bank city of Hebron. Eighty-two Palestinians and 15 Israelis have been killed since October, as well as an American and an Eritrean. The violence comes ahead of a visit by Secretary of State John Kerry to the region. According to Reuters, Kerry will begin his Nov. 22-24 Middle East visit in Abu Dhabi, after which he would continue to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He aims to discuss ways of trying to stem the latest wave of violence, which has been ongoing since Oct. 1.
