By Anees Barghouti

RAMALLAH, (AA): A Palestinian man was shot dead after he allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier in the West Bank, according to the Israeli military Thursday.

A Palestinian “assailant” attempted to stab an Israeli soldier at the entrance of Ofra, the statement said, adding “Israeli forces at the scene shot the assailant, resulting in his death.”

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the Palestinian has been identified as Ma’an Nasser-Eddin Abu Qare’, 23, from al-Mazra’a al-Gharbiyya village, northwest of Ramallah.

The Ministry added that Abu Qare’ was shot with several live rounds, near a bus station used by Israeli settlers, and soldiers, at the entrance of Ofra, and bled to death after the soldiers denied him the needed medical attention.

Ofra is a Jewish-only illegal settlement east of the West Bank city of Ramallah.

[Photo: Israeli police gather at the scene of a stabbing attack, where a Palestinian allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier before he was shot dead, at a bus station in Ofra Israeli settlement in Ramallah, West Bank on November 03, 2016. ( Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency )]

The officer, Raed Fuad Hijja, 38, from Borqa village west of Nablus, was a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces.

More than 242 Palestinians have been killed since an uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence began in October 2015, according to Palestinian figures.

Israel, for its part, says 42 Israelis have been killed over the same period in attacks by Palestinians.

Additional report from Imemc.org

[Photo: Ma’an Nasser-Eddin Abu Qare’, 23, shot dead by Israeli police on 3 November 2016. Photo by Imemc.org]