Man seriously wounded in Ramat Gan stabbing; police suspect terror motive

The head of Ramat Gan’s religious council was stabbed and seriously wounded Thursday afternoon, in an attack police were investigating as a likely terror attack.

The suspected perpetrator, a 20-year-old from the central Arab town of Jatt, was arrested by officers shortly after the incident and transferred for interrogation, police said.

The victim, 47-year-old Gedalyahu Ben Shimon, was in very serious condition after sustaining several stab wounds. Paramedics rushed him to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery, after which he was in stable condition.

The rabbi had no previous acquaintance with his attacker, according to Tel Aviv District police chief Haim Sargaroff, who spoke to the press at the scene.

Security camera footage of the stabbing showed a man dressed in a black sweatshirt and pants as he unsheathed a knife and proceeded to lunge at his unsuspecting victim’s back.

The attacker stabbed the man several times before he collapsed to the ground, still conscious. After the knife appeared to fall from the younger man’s grip, he resorted to beating his victim.

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The attacker fled the scene once the battered man managed to kick the knife further from his reach and another man on a motorcycle approached.

Sargaroff said officers tracked down and arrested the suspect soon after the incident, some 300 meters (yards) from the crime scene.

“The knife wasn’t in his possession, but during searches we found both his clothing items that he threw as well as the knife that he used,” said Sargaroff.

The investigation into the stabbing is being conducted jointly by the Shin Bet and police’s investigations and intelligence division. “There’s a lot more work to be done, but the suspect is with us,” the district chief continued.

An eyewitness who had been taking shelter from Iranian missiles in a nearby mall told Haaretz that the suspect fled into the building after the attack. “The moment we exited [the protected space], we heard shouts and a massive amount of police and security forces,” Omri told the outlet.

“The attacker ran and entered the mall, and caused a commotion. He screamed and cursed and everyone chased after him in the mall,” he added.

Later that day, Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri came to the hospital to visit Ben Shimon, who has ties to the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party. The longtime politician offered his support to the injured man and his family.

“I am deeply shocked by the criminal assault that was carried out by a wicked person against the head of Ramat Gan’s religious council, attorney Gedalyahu Ben Shimon, who was injured and is currently in serious condition,” Deri said.

At around the same time of the attack, the IDF said troops shot dead two Palestinians who attempted to carry out a car-ramming and shooting attack against Israeli forces near the Tapuah Junction in the West Bank.

“The troops responded with fire and neutralized the terrorists,” the army said, adding that no soldiers were hurt.

According to an initial military investigation, the two gunmen first opened fire at an army post before fleeing in their vehicle toward the junction where they tried to ram into soldiers. Both assailants were shot dead, first responders said.