Palestinian woman shot dead at Israeli checkpoint in Jerusalem

"At the security checkpoint at Zaim a female suspect attempted to stab security guards that were on patrol in the area," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement.

The Palestinian health ministry said a woman was killed by Israeli fire east of Jerusalem, adding her identity was not yet known.

The woman, who was dressed in black and had her face covered, died at the scene of serious injuries, an ambulance source told The New Arab.

The body was later taken away by Israeli forces, the source added. 

There were no casualties among the Israeli forces.

The checkpoint separates Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.

A wave of stabbing attacks against Israelis by lone-wolf Palestinian assailants erupted in 2015 but has since become sporadic.

Israeli authorities claim most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

However, rights groups accuse Israel of carrying out "unlawful killings" against Palestinians.

Last year, Amnesty International said Israeli forces were displaying "an appalling disregard for human life by using reckless and unlawful lethal force against Palestinians".

The rights group said it sent a memorandum to authorities in Tel Aviv detailing at least 20 cases of "unlawful killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces".

"Palestinians were deliberately shot dead, despite posing no imminent threat to life, in what appear to be extrajudicial executions," Amnesty said.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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