Palestinian woman with knife killed after approaching Israel soldier

JERUSALEM - Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian woman after she approached a soldier with a knife in the southern West Bank, the army said Wednesday, with Palestinian officials pronouncing her dead.

A statement from the army said the "attempted stabbing" took place near Al Aroub camp, north of the city of Hebron.

"An assailant armed with a knife advanced toward an IDF soldier who was conducting routine security activity on Route 60. The soldiers responded with live fire," the army said.

"No IDF injuries were reported." The Palestinian health ministry said the woman died from a bullet to her torso, identifying her as Ghofran Warasnah. The Palestinians' official news agency Wafa said she was 31.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said she was a journalist who had been imprisoned by Israel in the past.

Nineteen people, mostly Israeli civilians -- including 18 inside Israel and a West Bank Jewish settler -- have been killed in attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs since late March.

Israeli security forces have responded with raids inside Israel and the West Bank, particularly in the flashpoint northern district of Jenin. Three Israeli Arab attackers and a police commando have died.

Thirty-six Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank -- suspected militants but also non-combatants, including a journalist who was covering a raid in Jenin and bystanders. - AFP