News
Hebron stabbing thwarted as security forces placed on Yom Kippur high alert
An attempted stabbing of Israeli soldiers in Hebron was prevented this morning as low-level violence continued in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The incident took place at a crossing which separates the Palestinian and Israeli sectors of Hebron, where around 100 Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli security forces yesterday afternoon. An 18-year-old Palestinian woman this morning attempted to stab soldiers manning the crossing and was shot and injured in her lower body. An IDF statement said, “The terrorist is receiving medical care by the forces on the scene.”
Also in the Hebron area, a Palestinian man died yesterday when a grenade he was poised to hurl at an Israeli military jeep exploded prematurely in his hands. Israel Radio said that the man was a member of Islamic Jihad. Meanwhile, an Israeli was lightly injured yesterday when the car he was driving near the West Bank settlement of Beit El was pelted with rocks.
Yesterday’s incidents are the latest in a series of attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, with rocks and firebombs thrown at Israelis on an almost daily basis. Last week saw serious clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which has become a significant and emotive flashpoint for violence. Meanwhile, last Sunday evening, 64-year-old Israeli Alexander Levlovitz was killed after his car was hit by rocks in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighbourhood.
A general closure of the West Bank will be enforced from this afternoon until tomorrow midnight, due to the Yom Kippur holiday, which this year coincides with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Restrictions will also be placed on those entering the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for fear of disturbances, especially with many Jewish worshippers expected at the adjoining Western Wall. Meanwhile, the police presence will be increased in other areas considered susceptible to violence. Similar preparations are routinely made prior to Yom Kippur, but are considered particularly important this year given the recent tension.