Israeli officer killed by friendly fire in alleged West Bank attack

An Israeli reservist officer was killed by friendly fire in the West Bank on Wednesday after soldiers opened fire to disarm an alleged Palestinian attacker.

It is unclear if the man, since identified as 30-year-old Captain Eliav Galman, was on duty at the time of the attack. 

The attacker was in hospital in a stable condition, medical staff in Jerusalem said. While Galman was taken to hospital, he died of his injuries.  

"An assailant attempted to stab an Israeli at the Gush Etzion junction," the army said in a statement.

"Forces at the scene fired toward the assailant in order to thwart the attack. As a result the Israeli was injured. The Israeli and the assailant were both evacuated to hospital."

Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post newspapers reported that the Israeli was a reserve office in the army.

Initial reports did not state that the Israeli was a reservist due to censorship restrictions, Haaretz said.

The paper said that preliminary findings indicated that a Palestinian man walked up to the Israeli and tried to stab him. An armed civilian and a soldiers at the scene then opened fire.

Magen David Adom agency earlier reported that the victim had been stabbed.

A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming assaults that erupted in early October has claimed the lives of 28 Israelis, as well as an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean.

The violence has also seen 176 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks but others during clashes and demonstrations, according to an AFP count.

Rights groups have criticised Israel for using excessive force during the latest uptick in violence, but authorities have repeatedly defended their methods.  

The Etzion bloc of Israeli settlements, in the southern West Bank between Bethlehem and the flashpoint city of Hebron, has been a focal point of the unrest.

The Gush Etzion junction is a major hub for hitchhiking soldiers and settlers on the road between Hebron and Jerusalem.