Palestinian killed in West Bank after stabbing Israeli soldier

A Palestinian was shot dead Friday after stabbing an Israeli soldier at an army post near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said.

"An assailant armed with a knife" approached a military post and stabbed a soldier, the army said in a statement, adding that another soldier opened fire and "neutralised" the assailant.

The Palestinian health ministry said it had been informed of the death of a young man near the flashpoint city, but did not immediately identify him.

The army said the wounded soldier was "evacuated to a hospital for medical attention, while fully conscious, and his family has been informed".

Israeli emergency services said the soldier was being treated in a Jerusalem hosital for "moderate" wounds to his torso.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, when it captured the territory from Jordan.

Hebron, the biggest city in the West Bank outside Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, is home to about 1,000 Jewish settlers living under heavy Israeli military protection among more than 200,000 Palestinians.

It hosts a disputed holy site, known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi mosque and to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs, which is revered by both faiths.

Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have been frozen for years.