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American killed during Palestinian knife attacks identified

An 18-year-old American was killed in one of two separate attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank
American killed in Palestinian attack 01:49

BOSTON -- An 18-year-old man from Sharon, Massachusetts was killed during an attack in the West Bank Thursday, CBS Boston reports.

A Facebook post by the American Jewish Committee identified the victim as Ezra Schwartz.

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Ezra Schwartz was an 18-year-old who was spending his gap year in Israel when he was killed."He was a sweetheart of a guy," said Debbie Sussman, the camp director of the summer youth camp where Schwartz had been employed. CBS Boston via Facebook

Schwartz, an American citizen, graduated from Maimonides High School in 2015 and was spending a gap year in Israel, the school confirmed.

Schwartz was also a camp counselor at Camp Yevneh, a Jewish summer camp in New Hampshire.

"He was a sweetheart of a guy," said camp director Debbie Sussman.

Sussman described Schwartz's Israel trip as a "rite of passage."

"[He was] looking forward to going with friends, learning, studying and doing acts of kindness," she said.

Four others individuals were killed in a pair of stabbings and shooting attacks carried out by Palestinians in Tel Aviv and the West Bank.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those Israelis and Americans murdered in this horrific attack," a spokesperson for the Consulate General of Israel to New England said in a public statement.

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