Israeli troops on Friday shot and wounded a Palestinian who the army said was attempting to stab Israelis at a bus stop in the occupied West Bank.

"An assailant attempted to carry out a stabbing attack at the Elias junction, near the community of Kiryat Arba," a military statement said.

"Forces at the scene shot the assailant, who is receiving medical treatment."

An army spokeswoman told AFP that Israeli civilians had been waiting at the stop with soldiers standing guard nearby and it was not known who was the intended target.

She said the attacker was a Palestinian male, but had no further details of his identity.

Kiryat Arba is an Israeli settlement in the southern West Bank close to the flashpoint Palestinian city of Hebron.

The incident occurred at the same spot where one week ago two Palestinians rammed a car into the bus stop, lightly injuring three civilians before troops killed one of the assailants.

His female companion was shot in the stomach and taken to a Jerusalem hospital in serious condition.

The latest incident was the 10th since September 16, when 28-year-old Jordanian citizen Saeed Amro tried to stab police officers in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and was killed by a policewoman on the spot.

The Elias junction car ramming followed later the same day.

The upsurge of the past seven days has shattered several weeks of relative calm.

Israel's deadly use of force against Palestinian protests in Gaza and the West Bank since last October has killed 230 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP count.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with the Israeli occupation and settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have helped feed the unrest.

Israel says incitement by Palestinian leaders and media is a main cause of the violence.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.