Jerusalem (AFP) - Two alleged Palestinian attackers attempted to board a bus carrying children west of Jerusalem on Wednesday, and stabbed an Israeli before being shot, police said.

One of the alleged attackers was killed, while the second was in critical condition.

The two men were blocked from entering the bus in Beit Shemesh by the driver and others. They then stabbed and moderately wounded a 25-year-old Israeli man near the bus station, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Police did not provide further details on the bus, including whether it was a school bus.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Berlin that the attackers "tried to murder a bus full of school children", though that was not confirmed by police.

Police said the 20-year-old assailants were wearing T-shirts bearing the symbol of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Islamist movement Hamas.

Israeli security forces said they were from the Palestinian village of Sureif, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, and alleged one was a Hamas militant.

They said the other was in prison from 2012 to 2014 for being in possession of a knife at the Cave of the Patriarchs, a site venerated by both Jews and Muslims in Hebron.

Beit Shemesh, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Jerusalem, is a predominantly Orthodox Jewish city.

The attack is the latest in a series of stabbings -- mostly by young Palestinians -- against soldiers, police or Israeli civilians.

Since October 1, at least 49 Palestinians and one Israeli Arab have been killed, including alleged attackers. Eight Israelis have been killed in attacks.

One Israeli Jew and one Eritrean have also been killed after being mistaken for attackers.

Separately on Thursday in an area of the West Bank city of Hebron where Jewish settlers live, a Palestinian attempted to stab an Israeli soldier, police said. The soldier was not stabbed and the alleged attacker fled.

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Beyond the attacks, violent protests have erupted across the Palestinian territories, sparking fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

Nine Palestinians were wounded, including five from live fire, during clashes with Israeli soldiers in and around Hebron on Wednesday night, Palestinian police said.

Israel's military also said 58 Palestinians had been arrested since Wednesday in the West Bank, including 16 Hamas members and those accused of unspecified "hostile activities" by the military.