Palestinian woman shot and injured at Israeli checkpoint

A Palestinian woman has been shot and injured by Israeli forces at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, police said on Monday.

Israeli police allege that the 30-year-old woman walked towards Israeli security personel at the Qalandia checkpoint using the vehicle-only lane "all the time clutching her handbag in a way that made them suspicious", police spokeswoman Luba Samri wrote in a statement.

She had ignored repeated orders to halt and they opened fire, police alleged.

The Palestinian woman was lightly injured and taken by Israeli ambulance for medical treatment, Samri added, without specifying if any suspect items were found in her handbag. 

Since a wave of violence broke out in October 2015,  252 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have died.

The occupied West Bank and Israel has seen a number of knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Other Palestinians have been killed during protests, in clashes or Israeli air raids on Gaza.

Israeli troops are accused of leaving injured Palestinians shot by security forces to bleed to death or being subject to summary executions.

The rate of attacks has declined sharply in recent months.