Image copyright Reuters Three Israeli civilians have been stabbed to death in a settlement near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Another Israeli was wounded in the attack in Halamish. The Israeli army says the attacker was shot and caught.
The attack came near the end of a day of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces over new security measures at a Jerusalem holy site.
Three Palestinians were killed and hundreds were hurt in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Palestinians die in East Jerusalem clashes
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‘Assailant was shot’
The Israeli army said “an assailant infiltrated a private home” in Halamish (also known as Neve Tsuf) and stabbed four Israeli civilians.
Israeli media said the victims were two men and a woman. Another woman who was injured is being treated at hospital.
Unconfirmed reports in local media said the attacker was a young Palestinian man from a neighbouring village. He was taken to hospital, but his condition was unclear.
The army said that soldiers were still searching the area.
There has been a wave of stabbings, shootings and car-rammings of Israelis predominantly by Palestinians or Israeli Arabs since late 2015.
At least 47 Israelis and five foreign nationals have been killed in nearly two years of such attacks.
At least 255 Palestinians – most of them attackers, Israel says – have also been killed in that period, news agencies report. Others have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.
Israel says Palestinian incitement has fuelled the attacks. The Palestinian leadership has blamed frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation.
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