Palestinian attacker stabs Israeli woman in West Bank

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian attacker stabbed and wounded a pregnant Israeli woman in the West Bank on Monday before being shot, Israeli officials said.

The attacker entered the Tekoa settlement and stabbed the 30-year-old woman, the Israeli military said, before being shot by the settlement's head of security.

As a result, the military said "security measures" have been imposed in the West Bank and that effective immediately, Palestinian workers will not be allowed to enter Israeli settlements, though they will still be able to enter industrial zones. The decision will be reviewed on a daily basis, it said.

Shoham Ruvio, a spokeswoman for Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital, said the woman stabbed Monday was five-months pregnant. The woman was moderately wounded after being stabbed in the upper body and there was no damage caused to the fetus, the spokeswoman added.

Ruvio identified the woman as Michal Froman, the daughter-in-law of a late settler rabbi known to promote coexistence between Arabs and Jews.

Eli Bin, the head of Israel's rescue service MDA, had earlier told Israeli Channel 10 TV that the woman was seriously wounded.

The attacker's condition was not immediately known.

On Sunday, another Palestinian broke into a West Bank settlement home and fatally stabbed an Israeli woman before fleeing, touching off a massive manhunt. The woman, Dafna Meir, a mother of six in her late 30s, was buried Monday.

The attack Monday on Froman was the latest in a four month-long wave of violence that shows no sign of abating. Palestinian attacks have killed 25 Israelis and an American student. At least 146 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, 101 of them have been identified by Israel as attackers. The rest have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.

Israel says the violence is the result of a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustrations over Israel's nearly 50-year occupation.