BICOM

An Israeli soldier was moderately wounded by a Palestinian knife attack in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank. It was one of two stabbing targeting Israelis yesterday as the wave of violence continues.

Yesterday evening at the busy Gush Etzion junction, Israeli soldiers became suspicious of two Palestinian men at a bus stop and approached them. The two men attacked one of the soldiers, stabbing him in the head. However, other soldiers at the scene opened fire and killed the assailants. An IDF statement said, “The forces responded to the immediate threat with fire towards the attackers.” Although the identities of the assailants have not been confirmed, Israel Radio news says that the Hebron branch of Fatah announced that one of the terrorists, a 17 year-old, was one of its members.

The Gush Etzion junction has been a particular flashpoint during the violence of recent weeks which has seen twelve Israelis killed. Last week, a Palestinian ploughed his car into waiting commuters at the junction, wounding two people. There have also been a number of stabbing incidents. Last year, 26-year-old Dalia Lemkus was killed in a Palestinian vehicle attack at the same spot.

Also yesterday, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 22-year-old Palestinian man who attacked them with a knife in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron. The city has been the scene of several recent stabbings, with a soldier seriously wounded on Monday and a Palestinian woman shot dead on Sunday after she attempted to stab soldiers at a checkpoint. Meanwhile, around 1,000 Palestinians clashed with IDF troops in Hebron yesterday.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem yesterday alert policemen stopped two suspicious-looking men near the Old City and found that they were carrying a bag containing an axe and a Stanley knife.

Also yesterday, 76-year-old Robert Lakin passed away, having succumbed to injuries he sustained in a gun and knife attack on a bus in Jerusalem two weeks. Two other Israeli civilians died in the attack.