Palestinian arrested for planning to attack IDF colonel in West Bank
No injuries reported in incident southwest of Hebron; soldiers wrestle alleged would-be assailant to the ground
A Palestinian man was arrested after he approached a senior IDF officer while holding a knife, near the West Bank city of Hebron Friday afternoon, the army said
The attacker approached the command vehicle of Col. Itzik Cohen outside the West Bank settlement of Negohot, southwest of Hebron, the army said.
Soldiers wrestled the suspect to the ground and placed him under arrest. The soldiers did not use their firearms, and there were no injuries reported.
According to the army, the Palestinian approached the officer’s car wielding a knife.
Cohen leads the Judea Regional Brigade, which is responsible for Hebron and the surrounding area.
The suspect, who has yet to be identified, was taken into custody for questioning, the army said.
On Wednesday, the Hamas terror group urged Palestinians to hold a “Day of Rage” on Friday, coinciding with the state funeral of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, which was held on the same day.
The call is meant to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of a wave of terror attacks, including stabbings and car-rammings throughout the West Bank and in Jerusalem, that launched in September 2015.