Two Palestinians were shot dead after stabbing and wounding an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank yesterday, the military said, and an American-Israeli wounded in an attack two weeks ago died of his injuries, an Israeli hospital said.

Religious and political tensions over a Jerusalem site sacred to both Muslims and Jews have fuelled the worst wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence since the 2014 Gaza war.

The Israeli military said that soldiers had approached two Palestinians they found acting suspiciously at a junction near a Jewish settlement.

When the suspects stabbed and wounded one of the soldiers, they were shot and killed, a military spokesman said. Their families said they were 17 and 22.

Since October 1, at least 58 Palestinians, 31 of whom Israel has said were armed assailants, have been shot dead by Israelis at the scene of attacks or during protests in the West Bank and in Gaza.