Kerry condemns wave of violence in meeting with Netanyahu

US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned a wave of attacks as he met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday in his latest bid to ease nearly two months of violence.

Kerry said he would discuss with Netanyahu and later Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah ways of calming tensions.

"Clearly, no people anywhere should live with daily violence, with attacks in the streets, with knives, with scissors, cars," Kerry told reporters at Netanyahu's office ahead of talks with the Israeli prime minister.

"And it is very clear to us that terrorism, these acts of terrorism, deserve the condemnation that they are receiving and today I express my complete condemnation for any act of terror that takes innocent lives."

The violence has left 92 Palestinians dead, including one Arab Israeli, as well as 17 Israelis

Kerry also mentioned American victims of the attacks, with at least three US citizens - two with dual citizenship - killed in the wave of violence that began on 1 October.

After meeting Netanyahu, Kerry will hold talks with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin while in Jerusalem, then separately with Abbas.

The violence has left 92 Palestinians dead, including one Arab Israeli, as well as 17 Israelis - including the two Israeli-Americans - one American and an Eritrean.

Many of the Palestinians killed have been alleged attackers, while others were shot during demonstrations and clashes with Israeli security forces.

The violence continued as Kerry arrived on Tuesday, when a Palestinian was shot after allegedly ramming a vehicle into Israeli troops at a junction south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, wounding four of them.

Three Palestinians - including a teenage girl - and an Israeli soldier died in violence on Monday.

Kerry said he was "here today to talk to the prime minister about ways we can work together, all of us in the international community, to push back against terrorism, to push back against senseless violence".

He added that he wanted "to find a way forward to restore calm and to begin to provide opportunities that most reasonable people in every part of the world are seeking for themselves and their families."

'Concrete steps'

On Monday, Netanyahu announced stricter controls on Palestinian vehicles and an increase in so-called "bypass roads", which create separate routes for Palestinians and Israeli settlers.

During a visit on Monday to a West Bank settlement that has been the scene of numerous attacks, he also said work permits would be withdrawn for families of alleged attackers and pledged there would be "no limits" on the powers of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

Israel has already adopted the controversial policy of demolishing the homes of attackers, which it says acts as a deterrent.

Kerry has repeatedly called for both sides to take "concrete steps" to reduce tension and end provocative rhetoric, but his words have had little impact on the ground.

There is also little optimism he will be able to convince the Palestinian and Israeli leaders to resume peace talks, which broke down more than 18 months ago.

"There is no agreement to be reached between the parties right now," one senior US official said.

On Monday, an Israeli soldier was stabbed to death while another was seriously wounded in the same attack at a petrol station on the edge of the occupied West Bank. The assailant was shot dead at the scene.

Earlier in the day, two teenage girls were shot by security forces after allegedly attacking an elderly man in Jerusalem, police said. The attack was the first stabbing in the city for nearly two weeks.

One of the girls was killed and another seriously wounded.

In another attack, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead when trying to stab an Israeli soldier near Hawara south of Nablus.

An 18-year-old Palestinian woman, identified by medical sources as Samah Abdullah, was shot and severely wounded in the same attack, apparently by accident.