© Nir Alon / Global Look Press
Three Israelis have been killed and one wounded in a stabbing attack at the Israeli settlement of Halamish in the West Bank late Friday, rescue services report.
"A short while ago, a terrorist infiltrated a home in Neve Tsuf and stabbed 4 Israelis. 2 died and 2 were wounded. The assailant was shot," Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Twitter.
While initial reports indicated that the attack left two people dead and one injured, the wounded person subsequently succumbed to his injuries, AP reports citing Israel's rescue service.
The attacker was identified as a Palestinian, according to local media citing officials. Israel Radio identified him as a 19-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank village of Khobar near Ramallah.
The attacker was shot by Israeli security personnel which were dispatched to the scene.
It remains unclear if the attacker was still alive after being shot.
The turbulent region has, since 2015, experienced a surge in stabbing attacks by Palestinians, targeting Israeli military and civilians. The attacks often end with a fatal shooting of the attacker by the IDF. More than 200 Palestinians - the majority believed to be the perpetrators - and dozens of Israelis have been killed in the attacks.
There have been, however, reported cases of excessive force by Israeli soldiers, with one of the most highly-publicized cases being that of IDF Sergeant Elor Azaria. He was found guilty of killing an already neutralized Palestinian attacker, but filed an appeal with Israel's military court.
Comment: Israeli troops have been placed on high alert after the stabbing, with more troops
sent into the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestinian was taken to a hospital after being shot be a neighbor of the victims:
On Saturday morning, Israeli troops searched the assailant's family home in the West Bank village of Kobar and detained one of his brothers, the army said. Video footage released by the military shows soldiers leading away a handcuffed and blindfolded man.
The army said soldiers searched the house and measured it in preparation for demolition.
The assailant's father said his son had been angered by the escalation at the Jerusalem shrine, known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
"The honor of Muslims is only the Haram," Mohammed al-Abed said. "If it's gone, the Muslims' honor is gone. This was the motive for my son."
Ibrahim al-Abed, an uncle of the assailant, said his nephew had been arrested three months ago by security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who presides over autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The uncle said his nephew had spent two weeks in detention and was violently interrogated about alleged plans to attack Israelis before he was released.
The assailant said in a pre-attack Facebook post that he expected to be killed in the attack. He wrote that he wanted his body to be covered by a banner of the Islamic militant Hamas and a photo of Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat, founder of Hamas' main rival, the Fatah movement.
The victims had been celebrating the birth of a new grandchild during their Sabbath dinner when Omar al-Abed entered their home. He killed a man and two of his adult children. The wife was badly injured, and their daughter-in-law hid in a separate room with the children.
The situation in the Old City is escalating:
Following a relatively quiet day, violence resumed late Saturday near the epicenter of the current crisis in the Old City of Jerusalem. After hundreds of Muslim worshippers defiantly held their evening prayers outside the Jerusalem holy site, resuming their protest against security measures Israel imposed after a deadly attack there, clashes unfolded with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.
No injuries were reported, but one Palestinian was killed in uncertain circumstances in other low-level clashes that took place throughout the day ...
Disputes over the shrine, revered by Muslims and Jews, have set off major rounds of Israeli-Palestinian confrontations before. They were also at the root of the current violence which began last week when Arab gunmen fired from the shrine, killing two Israeli policemen.
In response, Israel installed metal detectors at the gates of the 37-acre (15-hectare) walled compound, saying the devices were a needed security measure to prevent more attacks and were deployed routinely at holy sites around the world.
Muslims allege Israel was trying to expand its control at the Muslim-administered site under the guise of security - a claim Israel denies - and launched mass prayer protests.
On Friday, tensions boiled over and several thousand Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank and in Jerusalem after noon prayers - the centerpiece of the Muslim religious week. Three Palestinians were killed and several dozen wounded in some of the worst street clashes in two years.