Three Israelis hurt in stabbing near Tel Aviv

A Palestinian stabbed and wounded three Israelis near Tel Aviv on Monday before being arrested, police said, the latest in a series of such attacks.

The 19-year-old, from Hebron in the occupied West Bank, stabbed two people on the pavement and a third in a clothes store, a police statement said.

The incident took place near the central bus station in Rishon LeZion, about 10 kilometres (six miles) south of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli medical service said two of the victims were in severe condition.

The attacker was arrested by security forces after he was locked in the shop, police said.

Nine Israelis as well as 68 Palestinians -- around half of them alleged attackers -- and an Arab Israeli have been killed in a wave of violence since the start of October, raising fears of another Palestinian intifada or uprising.

The Rishon LeZion stabbing is the first attack outside of the West Bank and Jerusalem since October 22, when two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli in the town of Beit Shemesh west of Jerusalem, according to the Israeli authorities.

Caption: Security forces guard the scene of the attack as medics attend to the victims

Photo Credit:www.dailystar.com.lb