Palestinian teen girl shot dead after tried to stab checkpoint guard

Samah Mubarak (16), A Palestinian teenage girl, was shot dead as she tried to stab an Israeli security officer at a checkpoint outside Jerusalem on Wednesday.

According to police, the assailant attacked one of the guards at the A'Zaim crossing east of the capital.

The Palestinian girl was identified as Samah Mubarak from the nearby village of al-Ram, the Palestinian Authority's official Wafa news agency reported.

She was wounded and later pronounced dead.

The crossing was temporarily closed following the incident.

Jerusalem Police Commissioner, Yoram Halevi, visited the site and spoke with the security officers on the scene.

**********************************

Israeli security officials have said that many attacks by Palestinians, especially women, are driven by personal and domestic issues, more than by ideological considerations.

In some cases, Israeli officials have said Palestinians appeared to have carried out attacks or attempted to do so in order to be shot dead by Israeli security forces, as a form of "suicide by cop."

Recent weeks have seen a number of attacks by Palestinians against Israeli security forces in the West Bank.

Last Monday evening, a Palestinian man attempted to carry out a stabbing attack against Israeli troops near the Palestinian city of Nablus, but was shot dead.

On January 11, a Palestinian man also tried to stab Israeli troops in Hebron, but he was shot and critically injured by the soldiers first.