A Palestinian woman brandishing a knife at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and the northern West Bank was shot dead by Israeli security forces Wednesday, police and medical sources said.

 

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said an unidentified "terrorist" had approached security forces at the vehicle passage of the checkpoint, ignoring calls to stop and pulling a knife before being shot in the leg.

 

Medics treated her at the scene and then evacuated her for further treatment, a police statement said. 

 

Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital pronounced her dead.

 

Police distributed a picture of a yellow-handled knife they said she had held.

 

A video of the incident circulating on social media showed a security guard shooting a woman in the leg from a short distance, the knife falling from her hand.

 

Palestinians sporadically attack Israeli civilians or security personnel in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, mostly in stabbings and car rammings.

 

The incident took place the day after a tight Israeli general election saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz neck and neck in the race to lead negotiations on forming a new government.