Five dead in West Bank stabbing attack
Israel's military has claimed that a Palestinian stabbed a family of five Israelis to death in an attack on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
The attack, which took place overnight, occurred in the Itamar settlement, near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The Israeli army is now searching the area for the suspect, according to reports.
The five were members of the same family, a couple and three children, according to Israeli media reports. The family - which included a baby and children aged 11 and three - were reportedly stabbed to death.
The Itamar settlement was already the target of a previous attack, in 2002, in which five Israelis were killed and several injured in an attack by a Palestinian gunman.
The incident comes as peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians have ground to a halt. The US-brokered peace talks stalled late last year over the issue of Israeli settlement building. Palestinians have refused all direct contact with Israel until construction is frozen.
