Israel hit with 4 stabbings in second day of widespread terror

A second consecutive day of multiple terror attacks and nationwide unrest rocked Israel Thursday, with four stabbings and numerous other clashes leaving some 20 people injured.

A 25-year-old yeshiva student was in serious condition after he was stabbed near a Jerusalem Light Rail station on Thursday morning. A second Israeli was lightly hurt after he wrestled the Palestinian attacker in an attempt to prevent him from fleeing the scene. (By Friday, the student had regained consciousness and was in stable, moderate condition.)

Three hours later, five people were lightly injured in Tel Aviv when a Palestinian assailant attacked passerby with a screwdriver. Another Israeli man was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack near Hebron in the West Bank on Thursday afternoon. Following hours of surgery, his condition was said to be stable. (He too regained consciousness on Friday.) In Afula, in northern Israel, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was moderately hurt in a stabbing around 7 p.m.

The Tel Aviv terrorist was killed by a soldier on the spot, while the Afula and Jerusalem attackers were taken into police custody. The Hebron stabber remained at large.

Police at the scene of a stabbing attack outside the defense headquarters in central Tel Aviv, on October 8, 2015. (Flash90)

Clashes, stone-throwing, and demonstrations were also reported throughout the country.

On Thursday night, a demonstration in Nazareth turned violent as protesters clashed with security forces in the predominantly Arab city. Police officers made dozens of arrests in an attempt to disperse the rioters, Channel 10 news reported.

Over 200 people took part in the protest, according to police estimates, which descended into rioting when protesters set fire to tires and garbage cans and hurled stones at police. Police had reportedly attempted to prevent buses from reaching Nazareth in hopes of heading off any potential violence.

Late Thursday night, right-wing Jewish protesters marched through the Old City of Jerusalem, with some heard chanting “Death to the Arabs.” The head of the far-right Lehava organization, Bentzi Gopstein, was arrested during the protest, along with three other people, according to Army Radio.

Shortly before midnight, Palestinians threw rocks at cars on Route 443 between Jerusalem and Modiin and at an Egged public bus near the Adam settlement, north of Jerusalem. No injuries were reported.

Jewish boys light candles in the shape of a Star of David at the spot of last week’s stabbing attack in the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City, October 8, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Earlier, a nine-year-old Palestinian child was injured when a stone struck the car he was riding in near the settlement of Havat Gilad in the northern West Bank.

In Haifa, stones were pelted at cars on Marcus and Raziel streets in the center of the city, according to the Walla news site. No injuries were reported.

In the area of the Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, assailants threw firebombs at a car near the Israeli town of Katzir. No injuries were reported in the attack.

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian as the forces made their way to the home of a man accused of an earlier stabbing attack, medics said. The Palestinian died after he was shot in the chest at the Shuafat refugee camp, according to the Red Crescent and hospital sources.

At least nine police officers were injured in the skirmish.

In a separate incident in the northern West Bank, an IDF soldier suffered minor injuries when she was struck by a stone near the West Bank settlement of Halamish.

Police were gearing up for renewed violence in Jerusalem after Friday prayers for Muslim worshipers, and were set to restrict access to the Temple Mount as part of an overall tightening of security measures in the Old City.

Dozens of Palestinian protesters burn tires and throw stones at Israeli troops during clashes near the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 8, 2015. (Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Thursday-evening press conference that the government would take steps to combat incitement against Israelis by the Palestinian Authority, the Islamic Movement and even other countries in the region as the country reels from the “a wave of terrorism.”

Netanyahu lauded the soldiers, police officers and citizens of Israel for their bravery, and said the government would “return security” to the country.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.