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Three Palestinian attackers killed as Israeli forces targeted

An Israeli policeman searches a Palestinian near the scene of an attack in Jerusalem on Friday
An Israeli policeman searches a Palestinian near the scene of an attack in Jerusalem on Friday An Israeli policeman searches a Palestinian near the scene of an attack in Jerusalem on Friday

THREE Palestinian attackers have been killed in separate assaults on Israeli forces, including a stabbing in Jerusalem's Old City that left two officers wounded before one of them overpowered and killed the attacker.

The assaults were the latest in a five-month wave of Palestinian violence that shows no sign of abating.

In the Jerusalem attack, a 20-year-old Palestinian "walked through Damascus Gate and then turned around with a knife in his hand, ran at the officers and attacked them", a police spokeswoman said.

One of the officers suffered knife wounds to the head, and the other was cut in the hand and struggled with the attacker before shooting him.

Palestinian attackers have carried out numerous assaults at the Damascus Gate over the past five months, prompting Israel to significantly beef up security.

The other two attacks took place in the West Bank during clashes with soldiers. A Palestinian rammed his car into troops during a "violent riot" near the city of Ramallah before troops opened fire and killed him, the military said.

Later near Bethlehem, two Palestinians shot at soldiers who returned fire, killing one and wounding the other.

The assaults were the latest in months of near-daily Palestinian attacks against civilians and security personnel, mostly stabbings, shootings and attacks in which cars are used to ram into Israelis. Since mid-September, 28 Israelis have been killed. During that time, 165 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the majority said by Israel to be attackers. The rest died in clashes with security forces.

Earlier on Friday, mourners gathered for the funeral of an off-duty soldier, 21-year-old Sergeant Tuvia Yanai Weissman, who was stabbed to death the day before by two Palestinian teenagers who attacked him and another shopper in a West Bank supermarket. The US Consulate in Jerusalem said Sgt Weissman was an American citizen.