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Palestinian teens kill Israeli man in West Bank supermarket knife attack
A 21-one-year old Israeli father was killed yesterday as he shopped in a West Bank supermarket, after being stabbed by two teenage Palestinians.
The attack happened at the Rami Levi supermarket in the Sha’ar Binyamin Industrial Zone between Jerusalem and Ramallah. The supermarket is frequented by both Israeli and Palestinian shoppers and is also staffed by Israelis and Palestinians. Channel Ten reported that the attackers spent at least 20 minutes in the supermarket before stabbing two people in the upper body and back. 21-year-old Tuvia Yanai Weissman, from the nearby community of Ma’aleh Michmash died of his wounds. The off-duty soldier leaves behind a wife and four-month old daughter. A 35-year-old man was also moderately wounded in the attack and taken to a Jerusalem hospital.
Shoppers reportedly used their trolleys to prevent the assailants from causing further injury. An armed civilian then arrived on the scene, shooting and seriously injuring both terrorists, who were later identified as Bassem Subach from the village of Qaffin near Tulkarm, and Omar Salim from the village of Beit Rima near Ramallah. Both are 14-years-old.
Israeli security authorities have closed the industrial zone to Palestinians, apart from those who work there, until Sunday morning, until security arrangements have been revised after the two attackers were able to evade checks and enter the supermarket armed.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement, “A man returns from his day at work, stops to buy groceries for the Sabbath, and is taken away forever by murderous villains.” He added, “We will stand strong and respond firmly to restore calm and normality to the lives of our citizens everywhere. We will defeat terrorism.”
Yesterday’s stabbing was the latest in near-daily attacks by Palestinians on Israelis since the start of October, which have now killed at least 31 Israelis. On Sunday, two stabbings were thwarted, while two Palestinians opened fire on Israeli border policemen at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City.