Israel 'to step up West Bank security measures'

West Bank residents will face a raft of new security measures, if Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gets his way.

People living in the territories occupied by Israel's military since 1967 will be confronted with even tighter controls on Palestinian vehicles and an increasing number of "bypass roads" - separate routes for Israeli settlers between settlements deemed illegal under international law, which frequently annexe, divide or destroy Palestinian farmland.

Netanyahu made the annoucement on Monday during a visit to a West Bank settlement that had witnessed several "attacks" by Palestinians against its residents.

Work permits would be withdrawn from the families of alleged attackers

He also said that work permits would be withdrawn from the families of alleged attackers in an act of collective punishment, which is generally regarded as a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

On Monday morning, a Palestinian girl was killed and another seriously injured after Israeli forces shot them at Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement.

Another Palestinian youth was shot dead, while an 18-year-old girl was injured after allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier at the Huwarra checkpoint south of Nablus.

Sources from the Palestinian Red Crescent told al-Araby al-Jadeed that Israeli forces stopped ambulances from reaching the young man who was left bleeding on the ground after being shot, while the 18-year-old girl was taken to the hospital for treatment after being shot in the head.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said on Monday that a Palestinian attacker stabbed two Israelis on the edge of the West Bank, killing one before being shot dead.