A Palestinian woman stabbed and slightly injured an Israeli man Saturday near East Jerusalem's Old City before she was caught and arrested by the police, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the assailant arrived at a stop of the light rail outside Damascus Gate and stabbed a person who was standing there.

"A police and the Border Police force that was guarding the area identified the incident, and responded promptly by taking over the terrorist," Samri said.

The suspect was arrested and taken into custody without being shot, Samri added.

Israel's emergency medical service said the man sustained light injuries and needed hospital care.

The incident was the latest in a wave of violence that has claimed the lives of at least 293 Palestinians, 48 Jewish Israelis, two US nationals, a British tourist, and two African asylum seekers since September 2015.

Israel accuses the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest.

The Palestinians say it is the result of 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, home to more than five million Palestinians.

-- BERNAMA