Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians on Thursday after a stabbing attack that left an Israeli woman wounded at the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the northern West Bank district of Salfit.

IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner later confirmed that the woman is an IDF soldier, who was evacuated to a medical center in Petah Tikva in moderate-to-serious conditions.

The two Palestinians alleged of the attack were shot dead at the scene by Israeli troops.

Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics were prevented from reaching the scene and forced to return, Ma'an News reported.

The two Palestinians were later identified as Ali Jamal Muhammad Taqatqa, 19 and Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Kar Thawabta, 20, both from the village of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem.

Few hours after the attack, the village of Beit Fajjar was reportedly closed off by Israeli military forces.

Just a few days earlier, on Monday, three Palestinians were killed in two consecutive attacks near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron.

The two attacks targeted and injured four Israeli soldiers.

Since the beginning of the wave of violence in October, nearly 200 Palestinians and 30 Israelis were killed in a series of attempted attacks that were mainly carried out by Palestinians against Israeli military forces and civilians.