Two Palestinians were shot dead on Thursday after a stab attack left an Israeli soldier injured near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the northern occupied West Bank district of Salfit, an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an.

Director of the Palestinian Ambulance and Emergencies Department Munther Nazzal told Ma’an that armed Israeli forces prevented Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics from approaching the site and forced them to turn back. Witnesses told Ma’an that the two Palestinians were shot “dozens” of times.

A spokesperson with Israel’s emergency medical service said the Israeli woman was in her 20s and was evacuated to a nearby hospital in “moderate to severe condition.” The Israeli army later confirmed the woman was a soldier.

The Palestinians were identified as Ali Jamal Muhammad Taqatqa, 19, and Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Kar Thawabta, 20, both from the village of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem, according to the village mayor.

Nearly 200 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed since violence increased in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel in October, with a wave of small-scale attacks and attempted attacks, the majority carried out by Palestinian individuals on Israeli military targets.

(MAAN)