Palestinian injures five Israelis in West Bank acid attack

A Palestinian man has injured an Israeli family of a man and four children after throwing a chemical substance at them, in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said.

After the acid attack, the assailant was shot and wounded by a civilian at the checkpoint south of Jerusalem, according to AFP news agency.

The attacker "poured an unknown substance suspected to be acid on a Jewish family," according to police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack from Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas who have taken responsibility for recent stabbing attacks in the occupied West Bank.

A number of Palestinian attacks have taken place in recent months following the Gaza conflict and unrest over the divisive Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem. In the last four months, 10 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in knife or hit-and-run attacks.

Tensions have continued to rise in the Israeli capital following an attempted assassination of a far-right Jewish activist, the suspected lynching of a Palestinian bus driver, and a deadly Palestinian attack on a Jerusalem synagogue which killed five Israelis.

Unrest in the holy city has been exacerbated by developments regarding the Temple Mount, or Al-Aqsa compound, which has witnessed clashes after proposals to enhance Jewish access to the flashpoint site, where they are currently banned from praying.