BICOM

A female soldier in her twenties was stabbed and wounded yesterday at the Ariel junction in the West Bank. The two Palestinian attackers were shot dead at the scene.

The knife attack took place yesterday morning as the victim exited a bus at the Ariel junction, adjacent to the city of Ariel, one of the largest in the West Bank. The two assailants, later named as 20-year-old Ali al-Kar Thawabta and 19-year-old Ali Taqatke, apparently ran towards the soldier from a nearby petrol station brandishing knives. After stabbing their victim, both Thawabta and Taqatke were shot dead by troops guarding the bus stop.

Meanwhile, the victim suffered stab wounds to her upper body and was treated by paramedics at the scene, before being evacuated to hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. She is said to be in a moderate to serious condition.

Yesterday’s stabbing was the latest in near-daily attacks by Palestinians which have killed at least 31 Israelis since October. Ariel Shaviro, Mayor of Ariel called on the government to “put an end to the absurd situation in which Israeli citizens are no longer safe.” Earlier this week, four soldiers were injured in a double car-ramming attack at a junction near Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron in the West Bank. Shots were also fired by the attackers during the incident.

In response to yesterday’s knife attack, IDF forces reportedly surrounded the attackers’ home village of Beit Fajar, south of Bethlehem and imposed restrictions on exit and entry. Two members of Thawabta’s family have previously been involved in terror incidents. One is currently imprisoned and the other was killed while carrying out a knife attack in Gush Etzion in November.

Earlier this week, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot confirmed that an offer was made to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to limit IDF activity in Palestinian areas of the West Bank. However, talks were said to be stalled as the PA appeared to reject the plan.