Soldiers manning a temporary checkpoint south of Jerusalem foiled an attempted stabbing by a Palestinian man on Sunday, Army Radio reported.

The man approached the barrier, set up along a main highway in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in order to block traffic during a public Hebron-Jerusalem bicycle trek, the report said.

Troops spotted a suspicious shape hidden beneath his shirt and called on him to halt.

When he ignored their calls to stop and continued to advance, soldiers grabbed him, and in the struggle, he stabbed himself in the stomach with a concealed knife.

The Palestinian sustained moderate wounds in the incident, but no soldiers were hurt, according to the report. The man was taken to an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.

The large traffic circle where the attack took place is frequented by both settlers in neighboring communities and Palestinians from nearby villages, who shop and work together at a large supermarket and shops alongside the junction.

There have been a number of similar attacks at the intersection, which is used by both Israeli and Palestinian motorists, in the last two years, although the area is generally quiet.