JERUSALEM — Israeli police say a private security guard at a checkpoint near Jerusalem shot and killed a woman on Saturday who allegedly planned to carry out a stabbing attack.
The police said in a statement that the guard at the Qalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem saw the woman with a knife and shot her.
Several amateur videos captured by Palestinians at the crossing showed the woman lying on the ground at the Israeli side of the crossing. Police later said she was a 28-year old Palestinian woman.
Qalandia is the main crossing point for Palestinian residents of the West Bank entering Israel, especially those bound for Jerusalem. The checkpoint is operated by private security firms, but Israeli police deploy after violent incidents. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli forces closed the crossing point on both sides.
Starting five years ago, Palestinians launched stabbing and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem, but the attacks have waned in recent years.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exerts limited self-rule, as part of a future state alongside Gaza and east Jerusalem. Israel says Jerusalem is indivisible. Peace negotiations have stalled for many years.
