Jerusalem teenager shot dead by Israeli police after stabbing two men in latest knife attack

A Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli police after stabbing two civilians in the latest knife attack to have taken place in Israel and the West Bank in recent days. Israeli police claim that two Israeli men were walking from the Old City in Jerusalem when they were stabbed by a 16-year-old Arab.

Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the two victims had suffered stab wounds to their upper body and were "lightly wounded" in the incident before being taken to a nearby hospital. Police had opened fire killing the attacker in the process.

In further security concerns a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the early hours of this morning landed in Israeli countryside, but caused no damage. It crashed in Israel's Southern District around 1am local time (11pm BST), setting off warning sirens in the area. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The knife attack, which took place near Damascus gate, is the latest incident in a wave of violence over what Israel says are unfounded rumours that the state plans to change arrangements at the Temple Mount, or al-Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary), to Muslims. The mount is considered the holiest site for Jews, but it is also Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina, with the mount containing the famous al-Aqsa mosque.

The hilltop compound has been a focal point for violence in the past and authorities have stepped up security across the region in the last week. Israel has subsequently barred all Muslim men under 45 years of age from the site.

Yesterday, clashes broke out along the Gaza border with Palestinians burning tires and throwing rocks at Israeli troops on the frontier. Israeli security forces shot and killed five Palestinians near the border in two separate incidents.

Also yesterday an Israeli man stabbed four people in what police believe was a politically-motivated attack. The assailant wounded three Palestinians and a Bedouin man in the southern Israeli city of Dimona.

On Thursday, five Israelis were injured and a Palestinian killed in four separate attacks in Tel Aviv, East Jerusalem, northern Israel and the West Bank. After the stabbings, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat urged all Israeli residents with gun licences to carry weapons for self-defence.