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An Israeli soldier was injured and a Palestinian attacker shot dead in attacks on Israeli servicemen in the West Bank yesterday.

During the afternoon, a Palestinian man brandishing a knife approached soldiers guarding a bus stop near the West Bank settlement of Ofra. The assailant, later named by Palestinian authorities as 23-year-old Maan Nasser al-Din Abu Qara from the nearby town of Mazra’a al-Qibliy, was shot dead by soldiers as he attempted to stab one of them.

The IDF said in a statement: “Responding to threat, forces at the scene shot the assailant, resulting in his death.”

Last night, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded after a shooting attack on the checkpoint he was manning near the West Bank city of Tulkarm. Israeli security forces said that they located the source of the fire, but that a manhunt was underway for the assailant. The injured soldier, who was reportedly hit by ricocheting bullets, was treated on the scene.

In a third incident yesterday, Israeli security personnel came under fire from a passing vehicle at a guard post outside Ofra. Nobody was injured in the incident.

Yesterday’s violence follows Monday’s shooting attack by a Palestinian policeman in which three Israeli soldiers were wounded north of Ramallah, one seriously.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby yesterday addressed recent Palestinian violence and incitement, saying: “I would just tell you we were deeply concerned by reports yesterday about a Fatah Facebook page praising the Palestinian who shot three Israeli soldiers day before yesterday. And we’ve raised this issue directly to the Palestinians as well.”

In total, 42 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks since October 2015. The vast majority have been carried out by individuals acting independently without coordination with terror groups. Israeli leaders have repeatedly complained that incitement by Palestinian leaders, especially via social media has been a significant catalyst to the violence.