Palestinian attempts West Bank stabbing, is shot dead
No one else injured in incident at crossing near Jenin; attacker brought down by security guards at site
A Palestinian armed with a knife tried to stab Israeli guards at a crossing near the West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday morning, and was shot dead.
The Hebrew-language Maariv website said that the man approached the Gilboa (or Jalama) crossing, heading in the direction of Israel when the incident occurred. No one else was injured in the attack, the report said. The checkpoint is manned by private security guards alongside IDF troops.
Israel’s Ynet news website said that a security guard spotted the attacker during an inspection at the crossing, while the attacker was apparently hiding in nearby bushes near a taxi rank at the entrance to the site. The attacker then ran at the guard brandishing the knife. The guard called several times for the man to stop, and opened fire when he refused to do so.
The attacker was later named as Mahmoud Talel Nazal, aged 17, from the village of Kabatiyeh in the northern West Bank, Channel 10 television reported.
Police from the Afula district, bomb disposal forces and criminal investigators were at the scene in the aftermath of the attempted attack. The incident was almost identical to an attempted attack at the site exactly one week ago. The would-be attacker in that incident was also from Kabatiyeh.
The IDF decided in the wake of the attack that the crossing would be closed until further notice, Ynet reported.
The incident came after a day of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories on Friday. Two Israelis were wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem, the first in the capital for almost two weeks. The attacker was shot dead by security forces.
A would-be attacker was also killed and another injured when they were shot as they tried to stab Border Police officers at the checkpoint at Tapuah Junction in the West Bank.
Also Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that an eight-month-old baby died after inhaling tear gas fired by IDF troops who entered his family home near Bethlehem. The IDF said it was investigating the incident.
Dozens of other Palestinians were injured in violent clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Friday.
