Israeli man stabbed, lightly hurt by Palestinian woman, 65, in Hebron
Suspect attacks settler near checkpoint close to Tomb of the Patriarchs; troops subdue and detain her, police say
A 38-year-old man was lightly hurt on Saturday morning when he was stabbed at a checkpoint close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Police said the attacker, a 65-year-old woman from the nearby town of Idhna, was taken for questioning.
The victim, a resident of the Kiryat Arba settlement, struggled with the Palestinian attacker before Israeli troops subdued her without opening fire, police said in a statement.
According to the Haaretz daily, when the Israeli troops approached, she threw the knife to the ground and lay down on the floor.
The Kan public broadcaster said the victim was treated on the scene for injuries to his face.
The attack occurred close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which is considered holy by both Jews and Muslims and is used for prayers by worshipers of both faiths. It has been a major flashpoint for violence.
Footage from the scene of the suspected stabbing attack in Hebron. pic.twitter.com/NbgWcqm6PR
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 18, 2021
The tomb is frequented by Jews during Shabbat and holidays and often under military protection.
It, and the nearby area, have been the site of numerous attacks and attempted attacks against Israelis. It is also the site of one of the worst incidents of settler violence against Palestinians, the 1994 massacre carried out by far-right extremist Baruch Goldstein, who opened fire during prayers, killing 29 people and wounding more than 100.
Saturday’s attack came amid a rise in Palestinian terror attacks in recent weeks, with a man shot dead on Thursday evening, and four taking place in Jerusalem alone, including a deadly shooting committed by a member of Hamas.
Meanwhile, the manhunt continued on Saturday in the area surrounding the West Bank city of Jenin to find the attackers behind Thursday’s deadly terror shooting.
Yehuda Dimentman was killed and two others were lightly hurt after they were fired on while driving a car as they left Homesh. A military official said the car had been ambushed from the side of the road.
According to television reports on Friday evening, security officials were said to be concerned the cell could attempt to carry out another attack before it is captured.
Three additional infantry battalions of troops, along with special forces and intelligence units, were deployed to the West Bank following the attack, as the military, Shin Bet security service and Israel Police scoured the area for the assailants.
Dimentman was a student at a yeshiva, or religious school, near where the attack took place. Homesh is a settlement that was meant to have been abandoned as part of a 2005 eviction but is now the site of the illegally operated yeshiva.
The 25-year-old was a father of a nine-month-old son and lived in the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron.
The Palestinian terror groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine praised Thursday’s attack, but did not take responsibility for it.
As well as the increase in Palestinian attacks on Israelis, there has also been a noted rise in settler violence toward Palestinians.
A group of extremist Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinians and vandalized property in a West Bank village near Nablus Thursday overnight, Palestinian media reported Friday hours after the attack.
Emanuel Fabian and Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.