Two killed as lone wolf attacks engulf Israel

Two separate lone wolf attacks in Israel on the same day, part of a wave of violence perpetrated by single individuals, highlight the tensions in Israeli and Palestinian society since the cessation of open hostilities between Palestine and Israel over the summer.

The first attack took place near an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank known as Alon Shvut, according to Al Jazeera. A 25-year-old woman was killed when a Palestinian stabbed her and two other members of the community near the settlement's entrance. The two other victims are expected to recover from their injuries. An armed guard killed the attacker shortly after the incident.

Al Jazeera reports that the attacker is believed to be a 30-year-old Israeli Arab from the city of Hebron named Maher Hamdi Hashalamun. He is believed to have spent nearly five years in an Israeli prison for throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli security forces.

The other lone wolf attack took place in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.  In that incident, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli soldier as he was waiting at a train station, according to Al Jazeera.

Although the soldier was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, he succumbed to his wounds.  The name of the attacker has not been released, but he is reportedly from the West Bank town of Nablus.

These most recent attacks come after a series of incidents where Palestinians have driven their vehicles into crowds of Israelis, wounding or killing those they strike.

The attacks have put both Israeli and Palestinian society on edge, as tensions could easily erupt into all out violence.

The recent increase in Palestinian violence against Israelis has its roots in the recent storming of the Al Aqsa mosque by radical rightist Israelis and Israeli security forces. 

The Al Aqsa mosque is one of the holiest places in the Islamic faith, and the incident caused widespread outrage and drew widespread condemnation from the international community.