BICOM

Two men in their 50s were stabbed yesterday by a Palestinian assailant while shopping in a supermarket in the West Bank industrial area of Mishor Adumim.

The attack took place soon after 4pm. The attacker, a 16-year-old Palestinian from Al-Azariya on the outskirts of Jerusalem, stabbed one of his victims in the head, the other in the hand. Both received light to moderate injuries and were evacuated to hospital in Jerusalem. One of the injured, a paramedic, reportedly fought with the attacker. Eventually the assailant was stopped by an off-duty security guard from the Prime Minister’s Office, who shot him in the legs.

Yesterday’s attack took place at the Rami Levy supermarket in Mishor Adumim. Although situated in the West Bank, it is a popular shopping destination for both Israelis and Palestinians and employs around 180 people, both Jewish and Arab. The supermarket is part of a large national chain named after its owner, Rami Levy, who pledged at the scene of the stabbing, “We will not let this affect us, or change our routine” and emphasised that he will continue to employ Arab workers. Two hours after the attack, the supermarket reopened although a security presence remained.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the attack that he had spoken to the security guard, who “acted with extraordinary level-headedness, resourcefulness and bravery.” Netanyahu told the security guard, “This is our work, to fight terrorism with the same determination, persistence and decisiveness” as he had shown.

Yesterday’s stabbing came just two days after a Jewish Israeli man was stabbed in the back by a Palestinian woman in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank. The man was not seriously injured and the attacker was shot and injured by a security guard. This week’s incidents follow several months of violence and unrest in both the West Bank and especially Jerusalem, which has seen 11 Israelis killed in a variety of terror attacks.