Israeli military says it killed Palestinian woman who tried to hit soldiers with car

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it shot and killed a Palestinian woman after she allegedly attempted to run over soldiers with her car.

Soldiers reportedly opened fire on the woman when she got out of her vehicle and pulled out a knife. It was not disclosed how close the woman was to the military officials at the time, according to The Associated Press.

The incident reportedly happened just north of Jerusalem in Hizmeh. The army did not release any photos or video footage of the occurrence, the news outlet noted.

An official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, confirmed that a 29-year-old woman was the victim of the shooting. She reportedly was a resident of Abu Dis, which is located toward the east of Jerusalem, the AP reported.

Israel has reported multiple instances of shootings, stabbings and other attacks against its soldiers in recent years, with many reportedly carried out by Palestinian individuals who did not have apparent links to militant groups, according to the AP.

Human rights groups have reportedly said that soldiers have used excessive force in the past and that some incidents with agitators could be deescalated without the assailants being killed. They have also said that in some cases innocent people are shot after being wrongfully identified as attackers.

Conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants has increased in recent months. Last month, the Pentagon’s top uniformed officer, Army Gen. Mark Milley, expressed his concern that fighting between the two could destabilize the region.

“Deescalation is a smart course of action at this point for all parties concerned,” Milley said at the time.