Jerusalem, Jan 3 (IANS): Israeli forces arrested two suspects over their involvement in the December 31 attempted stabbing attack in the West Bank, the military said.

The army said in a statement on Sunday that the two suspects drove to the site of the incident where the perpetrator of the attempted attack who had been killed by soldiers on the scene, reports Xinhua news agency.

The first suspect was arrested on December 31, and the second overnight between January 1 and 2.

On December 31, the perpetrator, identified as Amir Atef Reyan, stepped out of a vehicle at a junction near a military post and ran with a kitchen knife toward troops and civilians waiting at a bus station.

The troops shot the man and the Palestinian health ministry later confirmed his death from his injuries.

The incident came amid a rise in Palestinian violence against Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank.

Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war and has controlled it ever since, despite international condemnation.