Israeli suspected of trying to stab soldier in West Bank shot, seriously hurt
Army says circumstances of incident at gas station near Kedumim settlement under further review; reports suggest man was mentally ill
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Jewish Israeli man was shot and seriously injured while brandishing a knife and approaching a soldier at a gas station near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim on Monday morning.
Some reports suggested the man, who was suspected of attempting to attack the soldier, was mentally ill.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, a “soldier and an Israeli civilian opened fire following suspicion of an attempted stabbing against IDF troops at the Kedumim gas station.”
“An initial inquiry indicates that the individual was an Israeli civilian who approached IDF troops while carrying a knife,” the army said.
First responders said the man, aged 23, was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
The IDF said the circumstances of the incident were under further investigation.
There have been several terror attacks in the Kedumim area in recent years.
In August 2024, an Israeli civilian security guard was killed in a terror attack at the Bar-On industrial park, next to the settlement, and in July 2023, an IDF soldier was shot dead by a Hamas terrorist outside the settlement.
Monday’s incident came a day after Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man at a junction near Hebron, after he allegedly attempted to stab soldiers outside of the West Bank city.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 63 civilians and Israeli security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
The same period has also seen a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. The IDF has recorded more than 750 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence since the start of the year. The total for 2024 was 675 incidents.
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