Haifa man moderately hurt in suspected terror stabbing; teen girl arrested

A 47-year-old man was stabbed and moderately hurt in a suspected terror stabbing attack in the northern city of Haifa on Friday, police and medics said.

Officers who arrived at the scene at the HaZikaron Garden, adjacent to Haifa’s city hall, arrested a 15-year-old girl suspected of the attack.

Police said the incident was likely a nationalist-motivated attack, citing a preliminary investigation. It said in a statement that the girl’s father called police earlier Friday to inform them that his daughter said she intended to carry out an attack in Jerusalem.

According to police, the suspect is a local resident.

Medics said they found the wounded man — also a resident of Haifa who was not immediately named — in the garden, fully conscious.

He was taken to the city’s Rambam Medical Center by the Magen David Adom ambulance service, in a stable condition.

A knife used in a stabbing in Haifa, April 15, 2022. (Israel Police)

The suspected terror attack comes amid heightened tensions in Israel and the West Bank, following a string of deadly attacks in Israeli cities that left 14 dead, and clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians.

At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the past two weeks alone, including a 17-year-old who died Friday morning of wounds sustained the day before.

The escalation has come amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — often a period of high tension in Israel and the West Bank.

The military has stepped up its West Bank activities in an attempt to crack down on the spiraling violence.