A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli woman to death in her home in a West Bank Jewish settlement Sunday before fleeing the scene, said Israeli officials.

A military spokesperson declared that a comprehensive blockade has been imposed as large numbers of police forces are on a manhunt for the killer.

The spokesperson said the attacker broke into the woman's home in the settlement of Otniel south of Hebron and then stabbed her to death.

An Israeli emergency medical services' spokesman confirmed that the victim was 38.

The incident is the latest in a four-month deluge of violence in the West Bank, Israel, and the Gaza Strip.

Some 23 Israelis and a U.S. citizen have been killed in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks committed by independent Palestinians, while about 150 Palestinians have also been shot dead by Israeli security forces or vigilante citizens, over half after attacking or attempting to attack Israelis and the rest in clashes with Israeli security forces during protests.

Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups claim excessive force was used against Palestinian assailants, even after they were neutralized on site.

Israeli leaders accuse Palestinian leaders for instigating violence, amid discord at the al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, holy to both Jews and Muslims.

Palestinians distinctively claim the violence is connected to the 1967 Mideast War, when Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories.

Palestinians claim the occupied lands were denominated to become part of the Palestinian state, according to the two-state solution.

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