RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces on Monday after he allegedly stabbed and wounded an Israeli man in the northern West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.
Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that an Israeli man sustained moderate to serious injuries in what it described as a "terrorist stabbing attack" near the village of Usarin, east of Nablus city.
According to Kan, the Palestinian assailant arrived at the scene in a commercial vehicle, got out, stabbed the Israeli man, and fled.
Later, the Israeli army said in a statement that the troops located the "terrorist" and eliminated him, adding it will "continue to operate to thwart terrorism and maintain security."
Palestinian security sources said Israeli forces tightened military measures around villages south of Nablus, closing military gates at the entrances and preventing residents from entering or leaving.
Following the incident, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ordered the military to prepare for a full-scale war against the Palestinian Authority if it is believed to be preparing a large-scale attack in the occupied West Bank.
Katz said such a campaign could include the assassination of "senior officials," the displacement of residents from cities and villages from which attacks were carried out, and the destruction of "terror infrastructure."
Israel would also maintain a military presence in areas from which Palestinians were displaced, "similar to what we did in Gaza and Lebanon," he added.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank under interim agreements reached in the 1990s. Israeli forces have intensified raids and other military operations across the territory since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
More than 1,120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023, according to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs figures. ■
