3 Palestinians killed trying to stab Israelis

Three Palestinians were shot dead trying to stab Israelis in east Jerusalem and the West Bank on Saturday, as violence that has fuelled international concerns of a full-scale uprising showed no let-up.

The deadly unrest that has raged for more than two weeks prompted a “very concerned” US President Barack Obama to call for calm as the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting yesterday.

Including alleged assailants, 40 Palestinians have been killed since the violence erupted on October 1. Seven Israelis have lost their lives.

The mounting death toll has prompted fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, like those of 1987-93 and 2000-2005, when thousands were killed in <g data-gr-id="23">near-daily</g> violence.

Two of the attacks on Saturday happened in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron where some 500 Jewish settlers live in a heavily guarded enclave in the city centre surrounded by nearly 200,000 Palestinians.

The third happened at a checkpoint in a Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

In the first attack in Hebron, a Palestinian tried to stab a settler before being shot dead by his victim, the army said.

Palestinian security sources identified the assailant as 18-year-old Fadel al-<g data-gr-id="20">Kawatsmi</g>. The army said the settler was not hurt.