Itamar, West Bank (AP) - A Palestinian infiltrated a Jewish West Bank settlement early Saturday and killed five people, the Israeli military said.

Israeli media is reporting that the dead are all members of the same family - parents and three children. The family - including an 11-year-old, a 3-year-old and an infant - was all stabbed in their sleep, the YNet website reported.

The military says it is sweeping the area in search of the perpetrator and has set up checkpoints throughout the West Bank. It has instructed all residents to stay in their homes during the extensive sweeps.

The military blocked the entrance to the northern West Bank settlement of Itamar, as soldiers poured inside and a pair of ambulances departed.

The overnight attack is the first attack against settlers in months and the first of its kind and scope in years. It marks a rare outburst of violence during a relatively calm period.

It also comes as Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts are at a standstill and will likely to complicate efforts to restart them.

Itamar is home to some of the West Bank's most fervent settlers. The attack took place in the middle of the night against a religious community on the Jewish Sabbath.