JERUSALEM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli troops shot and injured Friday a Palestinian after he stabbed a paramilitary Border Police officer during clashes in the West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement that the incident occurred while Border Police officers were trying to disperse "riots" that broke out north of the city of Ramallah. A knife-wielding Palestinian man approached a Border Police officer and stabbed him in his shoulder. He was subsequently shot by the troops, according to the statement.
A spokesperson for the Border Police said they are checking if the stabber wore an explosive belt after photos from the scene showed a wide belt around his waist.
At least 23 other Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire during clashes throughout the West Bank on Friday.
Violence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip has soared following U.S. President Donald Trump recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital last week.
Israel seized East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank and the southern enclave of Gaza, during the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed East Jerusalem shortly later, claiming it as part of its "indivisible capital."
Trump was the first international leader to acknowledge the annexation.
The Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. East Jerusalem's Old City is home to the Al-Aqsa compound mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
