Police: Palestinian attacks officer with knife, is shot dead

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian man attacked an Israeli officer with a knife Monday at the entrance to Jerusalem's Old City and was shot dead by police, Israeli police said. It was the latest attack in a recent wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Paramilitary border police officers noticed the Palestinian acting suspiciously and ordered him to take his hand out of his pocket, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. The man then attacked an officer with a knife, but he was wearing a protective vest and was not injured, she said.

The attack took place near the Lions Gate of Jerusalem's walled Old City on the predominantly Arab eastern side of the city.

The recent wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence has been marked primarily by Palestinian stabbings and shootings carried out by young Palestinians with no affiliation to militant groups. The seemingly random nature of the attacks has complicated efforts to predict or prevent them.

In recent weeks, at least 25 Palestinians, including nine attackers, have been killed by Israeli forces, while five Israelis have been killed in attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed the violence on incitement by groups including the Islamic Movement, which runs religious and educational services for Muslims in Israel. Netanyahu is seeking sanctions on the group, which has led a campaign accusing Israel of plotting to take over a sacred Old City compound revered by both Jews and Muslims, a claim Israel denies.

Israeli police said they have arrested a local leader of the Islamic Movement in the Bedouin Arab town of Rahat in southern Israel who was suspected of organizing a group of protesters who vandalized security cameras and other property in the town on Friday, as demonstrations have been taking place in predominantly Arab cities throughout Israel.