JERUSALEM — A Palestinian youth leapt over a fence surrounding a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and stabbed and killed a teenage girl on Thursday before he was killed by a resident, the Israeli military and the news media reported.
The assault in the settlement of Kiryat Arba was the latest in a series of violent attacks that began eight months ago and that have left over 30 Israelis dead. More than 210 Palestinians have also been killed, most while carrying out attacks or when thought to be about to do so.
The assailant was identified by Palestinian health officials as Mohammad Trayreh, 19, of Bani Naim, a sprawling town separated from Kiryat Arba by hills and a highway.
He jumped over the settlement fence and walked to an isolated house where he stabbed the girl, identified by Israeli news reports as Hallel Yaffa Ariel, 13, in her bedroom. A photograph of the blood-spattered room was released by the Israeli military.
Mr. Trayreh then stabbed one of the volunteer security officers at the scene before he was shot and killed. Hallel was rushed to a hospital, where she died. Israeli radio reported that the security officer was in moderate to serious condition.
Israeli radio also reported that Hallel was sleeping late after attending a dance event the previous night when Mr. Trayreh broke in, locked the door and stabbed her “tens of times” before security officials forced their way in.
Security officials were aware that the fence had been breached, and they were chasing Mr. Trayreh before he reached Hallel’s home, Israeli radio reported.
June has been a particularly deadly month. Most recently, on Friday, soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian woman who they said had deliberately rammed her vehicle into an Israeli car at the entrance to Kiryat Arba.
On June 21, Israeli soldiers opened fire on a Palestinian vehicle, killing a teenager who was returning home from swimming, as they chased youths who had been hurling stones at vehicles and had wounded several people on a highway used by Israelis that runs through the West Bank.
The deadliest attack this month was on June 8, when two Palestinian gunmen posing as restaurant patrons opened fire on civilians in a Tel Aviv cafe, killing four.