This is the moment a Palestinian teenager tried to stab an Israeli soldier - before being shot dead.

Surveillance camera footage shows a 16-year-old dressed in black approaching a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron apparently trying to show him some papers.

But after moving closer, the teenager pulled a knife out and tried to stab the Israel Defence Force guard.

Dramatic footage camptures the moment a Palestinian teenager tried to stab an Israeli soldier - before being shot dead

After moving closer, the teenager pulled a knife out and tried to stab the Israel Defence Force guard

The soldier manages to duck out of the way, but the teenager lunges at a second guard before a desperate struggle breaks out and after falling to the ground, the assailant is shot dead

The soldier manages to duck out of the way, but the teenager lunges at a second guard before a desperate struggle breaks out.

After falling to the ground, the assailant is shot dead.

An Israeli army statement said: 'An assailant armed with a knife attempted to stab an IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldier at a checkpoint at the entrance to (the village of) Bani Naim.

'Responding to the immediate threat, forces fired at the assailant, resulting in his death.'

The Palestinian health ministry identified the alleged assailant as Issa Tarayra, 16, from Bani Naim.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the alleged assailant as Issa Tarayra, 16, from Bani Naim

The man could be seen slashing wildly with a knife during the attack - before he is gunned down

Soldiers moved in as a struggle broke out between the teenager and an Israeli soldier

Tuesday's incident was the ninth since Friday, coming after Palestinians wrapped up the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha and as Israel tightened security ahead of major Jewish holidays in October.

The upsurge has shattered several weeks of relative calm.

The recent attacks have mostly taken place in and around Hebron in the occupied West Bank and in annexed east Jerusalem.

Tuesday's incident was the ninth since Friday, coming after Palestinians wrapped up the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha and as Israel tightened security ahead of major Jewish holidays in October

An Israeli policewoman stabbed outside Jerusalem's Old City on Monday was in serious condition in intensive care.

Following that attack, which also left another police officer with moderate wounds, Israeli authorities closed Palestinian shops in the area.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the closures were ordered for officers to search the area, but some shop owners questioned whether it was punishment for the stabbing.

The Israeli army called the recent escalation 'further testament to the ongoing influence of incitement on the Palestinian street and social media networks'

The assailant in that case was shot and seriously wounded. Surveillance video showed him approaching the officers from behind before stabbing them.

The Israeli army called the recent escalation 'further testament to the ongoing influence of incitement on the Palestinian street and social media networks'.

An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was the possibility of a 'copycat effect' of one attack influencing another.

Israeli security forces evacuate a wounded Palestinian, who was shot during a reported stabbing attack against Israeli officers

The official said tensions may also be rising because of Palestinian 'online incitement' against Jewish visits to the Old City's ultra-sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound which are expected to increase during next month's holidays.

The compound is the third holiest site for Muslims and the most sacred for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.

It is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians fearing that Israel will eventually seek to assert further control over it.

An Israeli soldier kicks a Palestinian man as troops try to arrest him in the city of Hebron

Since October, 230 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed in ongoing violence, according to an AFP count.

Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were shot dead during protests or killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with the Israeli occupation and settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have helped feed the unrest.

An Israeli soldier holds a Palestinian man by the throat during an incident in Hebron, a largely Palestinian city where a hardcore of Jewish settlers are protected by a large Israeli military force

A Palestinian woman tries to prevent her son from being arrested by Israeli soldiers

Three soldiers grapple with a Palestinian man in the city of Hebron