Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in Hebron after alleged stabbing attack

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Monday after he allegedly tried to attack them near a holy site.

"An assailant attempted to stab a soldier adjacent to the Cave of the Patriarchs, lightly injuring him. The soldier and other forces at the scene, responded with live fire," the army said in a statement.

The military confirmed the assailant was Palestinian and had been shot dead, but gave no further details of the attacker's identity.

Hebron is home to some of the most important religious sites for Palestinians and Israelis outside of Jerusalem, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, or Cave of the Patriarchs, believed to be the burial site of the prophet Abraham.

The holy site was split into a synagogue and a mosque after a US-born settler massacred 29 Palestinians inside the mosque in 1994 and is guarded by Israeli soldiers.

Around 800 notoriously hard-line Israeli settlers live in Hebron's Old City under the protection of Israeli military forces, surrounded by more than 30,000 Palestinians.

Israeli military checkpoints, turnstiles and CCTV cameras control the movement of Palestinians in and out of the area.

A series of deadly incidents have increased tensions in the occupied West Bank this month.

On 15 October a Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing a soldier in the northern occupied West Bank.

Earlier this month, a Palestinian shot dead two Israelis and wounded another in a West Bank industrial zone.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements illegal under international law in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories seized during the 1967 war. 

Earlier this month, Israel's government approved the construction of 31 settler homes in Hebron, the first such green light for the flashpoint occupied West Bank city since 2002.