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Soldier wounded, assailant killed in West Bank stabbing

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An Israeli soldier was lightly wounded yesterday when a Palestinian man attacked him with a knife, following a vehicle chase.

The incident occurred near the West Bank community of Yitzhar, not far from the Palestinian city of Nablus. An IDF vehicle was giving chase to a car carrying Palestinian men, who were suspected of throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles passing near Yitzhar.

One of the Palestinians exited the car and stabbed a soldier. The injured soldier shot and killed the attacker, before being taken to hospital for treatment. Reuters says that an Islamic Jihad source named the attacker as 26-year-old Sari Abu Ghrab, from the northern West Bank village of Qabatia.

Also yesterday, a Palestinian woman in the West Bank city of Hebron was apprehended after she was found to be in possession of a knife near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which has been a flashpoint for violence during the last several months. A wave of Palestinian violence since October has seen at least 40 people killed, mainly through stabbings and vehicle attacks.

On a separate incident, a security alert was declared in southern Israel last night. Roadblocks were set up across the region and Army Radio reported that there had been intelligence of a possible infiltration from the Gaza Strip. A police spokeswoman commented that “there are no special instructions for the public, and they can continue to go about their lives, but should be alert to suspicious people or objects”.

Early this morning, the alert was lifted. A police statement said:  “Following the security alert in the Negev region, the suspicion has been lifted and [residents] can go about their routines.”

Neither police, nor the Israeli military have confirmed the nature of the threat.

The alert follows a rise in tension in the southern region, after a rocket was fired into the town of Sderot on Sunday. Israel’s military launched dozens of air strikes in response, considered an unusually large-scale reply.