Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian woman as she tried to stab a soldier in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday, the army said in a statement.

"An assailant drew a knife and attempted to stab a soldier," it said. "Responding to the attack, forces fired at the perpetrator, resulting in her death."

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that a woman was killed but could not immediately give her age or name.

The incident took place as Washington's UN ambassador, Samantha Power, arrived for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

"Arrived in Israel... to discuss US commitment to 2 states side by side in security & peace," she wrote on her official Twitter account earlier.

Since the current round of bloodshed erupted at the beginning of October, 167 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Most were carrying out attacks but others died during clashes and demonstrations.

The violence has claimed the lives of 26 Israelis, as well as an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP count.

The army statement said that Saturday's incident occurred near Hebron's shared religious site known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, a site of frequent friction between the sides.

Hebron is a regular flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with several hundred Jewish settlers living in the heart of the city under heavy military guard among around 200,000 Palestinians.

A large number of the Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks that began on October 1 have occurred in and around the city.
SourcE :AFP