JERUSALEM, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A young Palestinian who tried to stab an Israeli soldier at a bus stop in the West Bank on Monday was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The assailant, identified as 22-year-old Elias Saleh Yassin, is a resident of the Palestinian village of Biddya. He was killed by two Israeli soldiers near the bus stop.

The nearby junction, through which hundreds of Palestinian workers pass in buses between the center of Israel and Palestinian villages in the area, was closed following the incident, IDF said.

The Israeli army has launched an investigation, it added.

Two years ago, a similar stabbing attempt happened at the junction, in which a Palestinian woman tried to stab an Israeli soldier and was shot dead.

Also on Monday, an explosive device placed by two Palestinians adjacent to the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip damaged the fence.

In response, an Israeli aircraft fired toward a Hamas post in southern Gaza, said the IDF.