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Two Israeli soldiers stabbed, police attacked in West Bank

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Two Israeli soldiers and two policemen were attacked in separate incidents yesterday and overnight in the West Bank.

At around 7pm yesterday evening, two assailants approached the guard post outside the West Bank community of Har Bracha, near Nablus. They stabbed two soldiers who were on guard duty at the time and fled the scene, sparking a manhunt in the area. Meanwhile, residents of Har Bracha were instructed to stay in their homes. Initial reports indicated that the soldiers’ weapons had been stolen, but the claims later proved to be unfounded. One of the soldiers was moderately wounded in the shoulder and taken to hospital in Petach Tikva for treatment, while the other was treated on the scene.

This morning, a 43-year-old Israeli policeman was stabbed by a Palestinian female, while directing traffic near Jericho, in the West Bank. He was enabling traffic to move around a felled tree in the village of Ouja on Route 90, following high winds and rain overnight. The assailant was arrested without incident on the scene, while the policeman was taken to a nearby medical centre for treatment.

In a separate incident, shots were fired at a police vehicle driving at the Rehilim Junction, near the Palestinian city of Nablus, also in the West Bank. A police officer suffered light injuries, while the vehicle sustained damage. A search was launched in the area for the gunman.

These latest attacks come just a day after a man was attacked by two Palestinian assailants at his home in the West Bank community of Eli. He fought off the attackers, who were armed with knives and metal bars. Eventually, the terrorists were shot dead after they attempted to stab soldiers sent to search for their whereabouts.

Near-daily attacks carried out by Palestinians since October, have resulted in the deaths of at least 31 Israelis. Within the last two months, a growing number of attacks have been perpetrated within West Bank settlement communities.