A Palestinian teenage girl was shot dead as she tried to stab an Israeli security officer at a checkpoint outside Jerusalem on Wednesday, police said.

According to police, the assailant attacked one of the guards at the A’Zaim crossing east of the capital, in the central West Bank.

“A rapid response by additional security forces brought about her neutralization with no injuries to the security personnel,” police said in a statement.

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The Palestinian girl was identified as Samah Mubarak, 16, from the nearby village of al-Ram, the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported.

She was wounded and later pronounced dead, the West Bank’s Palestinian health ministry said.

The crossing was temporarily closed following the attack.

Jerusalem Police Commissioner, Yoram Halevi, visited the site and spoke with the security officers on the scene, police said.

“Police are investigating where the female suspect came from, and heightened security is continuing in the area,” police said.

Israeli security officials have said that many attacks by Palestinians, especially women, are driven by personal and domestic issues, more than by ideological considerations.

In some cases, Israeli officials have said Palestinians appeared to have carried out attacks or attempted to do so in order to be shot dead by Israeli security forces, as a form of “suicide by cop.”

Recent weeks have seen a number of attacks by Palestinians against Israeli security forces in the West Bank.

Last Monday evening, a Palestinian man attempted to carry out a stabbing attack against Israeli troops near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, but was shot dead, the Israel Defense Forces said.

On January 11, a Palestinian man also tried to stab Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron, but he was shot and critically injured by the soldiers first, the army said.

December saw a significant increase in West Bank terror attacks, leading to the death of two IDF soldiers and a baby born prematurely after his mother was seriously wounded. At least 10 other civilians and soldiers were injured in the string of attacks.