Israeli police kill Palestinian man in Jerusalem

Israeli police shot and killed a man who they claim tried to carry out a stabbing attack in the old city of Jerusalem on Saturday, Reuters reported a Israeli spokesman as saying.

According to the Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, the man was armed with a knife when he came at police officers. The identity of the man was still being investigated, he said.

Israel has heightened security in Jerusalem in recent weeks due to elevated tension in the region after US President Donald Trump unveiled a Middle East Peace plan that Israel has embraced while Palestinians rejected as one sided.

Read: Palestinian teen shot dead after alleged stabbing attack

Israeli forces conduct a search of the area after a Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces after allegedly attempting to stab Israeli policemen at the Old City in Jerusalem on February 22, 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf / Anadolu Agency]

Israeli medical team carries a dead body of a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces after allegedly attempting to stab Israeli policemen at the Old City in Jerusalem on February 22, 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf / Anadolu Agency]

Israeli forces block entrances around the Old City in Jerusalem on 22 February 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf / Anadolu Agency]

Israeli forces block entrances around the Old City, after a Palestinian was killed by Israeli police for allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli policemen at the Old City in Jerusalem on February 22, 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf / Anadolu Agency]

A number of local and international human rights groups have raised concerns that Israeli security forces have used excessive force when confronting Palestinians who carried out attacks or were suspected of doing so.

The Israeli police relaxed its open-fire regulations in December 2015, permitting officers to open fire with live ammunition on those throwing stones or firebombs as an initial option, without having to use non-lethal weapons first.

Read: 3 Israel soldiers convicted for beating Palestinian father, son in custody