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An Israeli man was lightly wounded as he prevented two Palestinian terrorists from entering his home this morning in the West Bank settlement of Eli.

Situated around 20 miles north of Jerusalem, Eli is home to around 4,000 people. The two 17-year-old assailants infiltrated the community and smashed car windows before hiding behind resident Roi Harrel’s front door. When he opened the door to investigate the noise, they stabbed him and attempted to enter his home. However, Harrel was able to keep the attackers at bay and lock the door. Israel Radio news reports that the two terrorists were also armed with metal bars.

The terrorists then hid in a nearby yard, before soldiers launched a search for them. As soldiers passed their hideout, the two terrorists, named as high school students Labib Haldon Anwar Azzam and Mihmoud Hisham Ali Z’jlan from a village south of Nablus, attempted to stab the troops. The soldiers shot and killed the terrorists. An army statement said, “Upon the significant threat to the people of the community, forces shot the attackers, resulting in their death.” Meanwhile, Harrel was transported to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment, where he was said to be in a stable condition.

This morning’s stabbing was the latest in near-daily attacks carried out by Palestinians since October, resulting in the deaths of at least 31 Israelis. It is one of a growing number of incidents in which terrorists have struck within a settlement community. In January, two Israeli women were killed following knife attacks in West Bank communities while another, pregnant woman was also stabbed.

In a separate attack last week, an Israel security guard at a shopping centre in the West Bank city of Ma’aleh Adumim was seriously injured when a Palestinian attacked him with an axe. The assailant was also an employee of the shopping centre and was known to his victim.