Palestinian woman shot in Hebron after 'attempting to stab' Israeli troops

The incident took place outside of the flashpoint Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

1 min read

30 October, 2019

Around 800 notoriously hardline Israeli settlers live in Hebron's Old City. [Getty]

Israeli security forces shot and injured a Palestinian woman who allegedly attempted to stab police officers outside of the flashpoint Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West bank city of Hebron on Wednesday.

Israeli police said the woman "drew a knife with the aim of carrying out a stabbing attack" outside of the site known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque and to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

The woman, who wasn't immediately identified, was treated by medics and has been hospitalised in critical condition.

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

In 1994, US-born Jewish extremist Baruch Goldstein entered the Ibrahimi Mosque and massacred 29 Palestinians who were praying at the holy site.

The site is the second holiest in Judaism and the fourth holiest in Islam.

Exempted from the Oslo Accords which gave the Palestinian Authority sovereignty over major West Bank cities, Hebron was in 1997 carved in two under the Hebron Protocol.

Some 80 percent of the city, known as H1, is under Palestinian control. The remaining 20 percent - home to hundreds of settlers - is controlled by Israel.

Agencies contributed to this report.