Palestinian shot dead after three killed in West Bank settlement

The 18-year-old was killed after a stabbing and ramming attack in Ariel

Israeli security forces patrol the scene of stabbing attack at the Ariel Industrial Zone, near the West Bank settlement of Ariel. AP

A Palestinian was shot dead on Tuesday after three Israelis were killed in a West Bank settlement.

Israel's army said an 18-year old man killed three people in a combined stabbing and ramming attack in Ariel, the largest settlement in the West Bank. He reportedly had a permit to work in Ariel's industrial park.

Three people are also in hospital, with two in a critical condition.

Police said the assailant, from the village of Hares near Nablus, stabbed and seriously wounded a guard at the industrial park before stabbing others at a petrol station and fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.

He was shot dead by a soldier after hitting another person with his car. Forces are currently searching for an accomplice.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz identified the attacker as Mohammed Souf. Three of his family members have since been arrested, Palestinian sources told the paper.

The area surrounding the spot where the attack took place in the Ariel settlement, in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Defence minister Benny Gantz met the head of the army and the Shin Bet Intelligence service following the attack.

This year has been the deadliest since 2006 in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. At least 130 Palestinians have been killed in raids and violence in the West Bank, after a wave of Palestinian attacks in Israel which killed 23 people earlier this year.

Nablus and Jenin have been particularly tense. Two Palestinians were killed last week in clashes with Israeli soldiers when right-wing politicians visited St Joseph's Tomb in Nablus.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, widely expected to head Israel's ministry of public security when a new government is formed, reiterated calls for the death penalty in a tweet following the attack.

“Only an iron hand will stamp out terrorism,” tweeted Mr Ben-Gvir, who lives in the settlement of Kiryat Arba.

“This is a wake-up call for the future government: the death penalty law for terrorists must be passed to put an end to terrorism.”

Incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also tweeted, saying he was praying for the injured and “strengthening security forces in the area.”

A Palestinian was shot and killed in late October after an attack in Kiryat Arba, which Mr Ben-Gvir said targeted him and his family.