A knife-wielding Palestinian who attempted to stab Israeli soldiers near Nablus in the occupied West Bank was shot dead on Tuesday, the Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said.

In a statement, the army said that troops at a West Bank military post "spotted an assailant who attempted to stab two soldiers".

"One of the soldiers blocked the assailant's multiple stabbing attacks and the commander of the troops, who was at the scene, fired towards the assailant and neutralised him."

The statement added that Israeli forces suffered no casualties, while an army spokesperson told AFP that the alleged attacker had been killed.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that "a citizen" had been shot dead by the "occupation forces."

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa named him as Atta Rayyan, 17, from Qarawat Bani Hassan, a town adjacent to Gitai Avisar junction, where the attempted attack took place.

In 2019, a Palestinian stabbed a soldier to death, took his rifle and used it to shoot dead an Israeli civilian near the location of Tuesday's attack.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.

So-called lone-wolf attacks by Palestinians on the Israeli military are common in the territory. Some have involved firearms but most have been with knives.

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