Israeli troops getting new neck guards to protect against stabbings, report claims

(Marcus Golejewski/Geisler-Fotopr/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Israeli soldiers patrolling the West Bank will soon get new protection in the form of neck guards, an army official told The Times of Israel Monday.

Stabbing attacks have happened almost daily over the past few months. A Palestinian attacker stabbed an Israeli soldier Tuesday in the West Bank, lightly wounding him before troops at the scene shot and killed the assailant, the military said.

Officials at Israel Defense Forces' Central Command reportedly asked for the new protection in November. The neck guard slips under a soldier's protective vest, The Times reports.

Still, officials admit there may be no way to keep Israeli troops completely safe from attackers. “There’s no such thing as 100 percent protection,” Lt. Col. Liron Segel said.

Tuesday's stabbing at the Gush Etzion junction is the latest in three-and-a-half months of near-daily attacks that have killed 21 Israelis since mid-September mostly in stabbing and car-ramming attacks. That death toll does not include the two Israelis killed in a shooting last Friday in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, as the motive for that assault remains unclear.

Police and special forces are still searching for the accused shooter in that attack, Nashat Milhem, an Arab from northern Israel who is considered to be armed and dangerous. He has been on the loose since the attack.

In the latest wave of violence since mid-September, at least 132 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, 91 of them identified by Israel as assailants. The rest died in clashes with security forces.

Israel says the violence is being fanned by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustration stemming from nearly five decades of Israeli occupation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.