Police say 2 Arab attackers stab Israeli and are shot

Police say 2 Arab attackers stab Israeli and are shot
By TIA GOLDENBERG

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Arab attackers stabbed an Israeli on Thursday and were then shot by police, as diplomatic efforts continued to try to bring an end to a monthlong spate of violence.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attackers, whose identities were not immediately known, were seriously wounded. Rosenfeld said the Israeli man was lightly wounded.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said police saw the attackers stabbing the 25-year-old man near a bus stop in the city of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, when they shot them.

The incident is the latest in a wave of near-daily attacks on Israelis by Palestinian or Arab attackers. Ten Israelis have been killed over the last month, mainly in stabbing attacks. On the Palestinian side, 47 people have been killed, 26 of them identified by Israel as attackers, the others killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

The violence erupted a month ago, fueled by rumors that Israel was plotting to take over a sensitive Jerusalem holy site revered by both Jews and Muslims. The violence was initially confined to traditionally Arab east Jerusalem but soon spread deep into Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Diplomatic efforts have kicked off in a bid to quell the violence. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders during a visit to the region this week and then offered the Security Council a grim assessment of prospects for defusing the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Germany on Wednesday, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry is scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan this weekend.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-10-22