Palestinian attempts to stab Israelis at West Bank bus stop and flees, IDF says

A Palestinian suspect attempted to stab two Israeli civilians at a bus stop near a West Bank settlement on Thursday evening, before fleeing the scene, officials said.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the suspect arrived by car at a bus stop outside the settlement of Nili in the central West Bank and tried to stab two Israeli women.

The suspect then threw the knife to the side, got back in his car, and fled the scene, the IDF said.

The IDF said troops were searching the area for the assailant.

The military published a photo of the knife that the suspect left behind.

Violence has surged across the West Bank over the past year and a half, with a rise in Palestinian shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, near-nightly arrest raids by the military, and an uptick in attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians.