Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops Wednesday after infiltrating a West Bank settlement and wounding a settler, the military said.

"Two assailants infiltrated the community of Eli, south of Nablus. They attacked a man outside of his home," the army said in a statement.

"Forces arrived... (and) shot the attackers, resulting in their death."

Roy Harel, a resident of the settlement, was lightly wounded during the knife attack and was evacuated to hospital.

He told the Ynet news site he had managed to repel the attackers and lock himself in his home where his wife and five children were also located.

The two Palestinians killed were identified by Palestinian police as Labib Azzam and Mohammed Zaghlwan, aged 18 and from the village of Qaryut near the settlement.

A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 180 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll.

Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes or demonstrations.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation and settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the unrest.

Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as a main cause of the violence.

Many of the attackers have been young Palestinians, including teenagers, who appear to have been acting on their own.
Source :AFP