BICOM

A 36-year-old Israeli man was seriously wounded yesterday evening when he was stabbed by a Palestinian man at a petrol station in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev, north of Jerusalem.

The attacker, thought to be 17-year-old Abada Abu Ras from the nearby town of Bir Nabala, reportedly entered an eatery at a petrol station at the Givonim Junction. He stabbed his victim in the upper body before fleeing the scene. However, he was pursued by civilians who witnessed or were nearby the attack and was soon subdued. During the chase, the assailant threw his knife at those pursuing him, lightly injuring one of them. Ambulances soon arrived and the initial victim was transferred to a Jerusalem hospital with serious injuries. Meanwhile, security personnel arrested the terrorist, who was also given medical treatment.

Yesterday’s knife attack took place not far from Beit Horon, where earlier this week 23-year-old Shlomit Krigman was stabbed and murdered near a mini-market after two Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the settlement’s perimeter fence. Last week, mother-of-six Dafna Meir was stabbed to death at the entrance to her home in Otniel and a day later, a pregnant Israeli woman survived a stabbing in another West Bank community. In total, at least 28 Israelis have been killed in near-daily attacks by Palestinians since the start of October.

Also yesterday, a suspected knife attack was averted at the Qalandiya checkpoint. During the afternoon, Israeli security personnel carried out a routine check on a bus transporting Palestinians. A 17-year-old from Nablus refused to present his identification card and was asked to step off the bus. As he did so, he pulled out a knife and attempted to stab one of the soldiers. However, the knife fell out of his hand and he was arrested before being taken for questioning.