Palestinian driver shot dead after ramming Israeli officer: Israeli police

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian driver in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after he rammed into an Israeli border policeman, critically wounding him, police said. "A border policeman was critically wounded in a ramming attack near (the city of) Hebron," police said in a statement. "The team of officers at the junction opened precise fire on the terrorist." Hebron has become the focal point of violent unrest and the military said it was the 30th attack against Israelis in the area since the start of October, around the time the latest wave of violence began. Eleven Israelis have been killed in stabbings, shootings or other attacks. At least 68 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces, including 41 who Israel says were attackers. Many were teenagers. A growing number of visits by religious Jews to al-Aqsa plaza, which is also revered by Jews as the site of two destroyed biblical temples, have stirred Palestinian allegations that Israel is violating a long-running agreement banning non-Muslim prayer there. Israel has accused Palestinian officials of inciting the violence by spreading the allegations, which it says are false. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Gareth Jones)