A Palestinian attacker stabbed and wounded a pregnant Israeli woman before being shot, Israeli officials say.
The attacker entered the Tekoa settlement Monday in the West Bank and stabbed the 30-year-old woman before being shot by the settlement's head of security.
A spokeswoman for Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital said the woman was five-months pregnant. She said the woman was moderately wounded after being stabbed in the upper body and the fetus appears unharmed.
The victim was identified as Michal Froman, the daughter-in-law of a late rabbi known to promote coexistence between Arabs and Jews.
Also Monday, Israeli forces hunted for a Palestinian suspect accused of breaking into a West Bank home and stabbing a Jewish woman, Dafna Meir, to death.
While Sunday's killing was part of a months-long wave of violence, it was the first inside a Jewish settlement home in the occupied West Bank and triggered fears the unrest is worsening and Israel would impose a harsh security crackdown on Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled further security measures, pledging to "strengthen the communities" after the deadly stabbing in the Otniel settlement near the flashpoint city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
The United States spoke out against both incidents, condemning "in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks over the past two days against Israeli civilians.
"We were appalled and deeply saddened by the death of Dafna Meir, a mother of six, who was attacked on Sunday in her own home. We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and community," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Regarding Michal Froman, the pregnant woman who was stabbed, the spokesman said, "We wish her a full and complete recovery. These horrific incidents underscore the importance of affirmative steps to restore calm, reduce tensions and bring an immediate end to the violence."
