Palestinian woman throws knife at border guard, is killed along with suspected accomplice

A Palestinian woman and young man attacked border guards with a knife at the Qalandiya crossing in the West Bank on Wednesday, police said, and were gunned down by forces on the scene.

No Israeli forces were injured in the incident, but the two assailants were killed in the attempted assault at the Qalandiya checkpoint, police said.

The man and woman, who were identified later as a sister and brother, arrived at the crossing and began walking towards the Border Police officers stationed at the checkpoint, which lies just south of Ramallah, a police spokesperson said.

“The officers called them to stop a number of times,” according to a police statement.

Two knives and a Leatherman-style multi-tool that a Palestinian couple allegedly planned to use to attack Border Police officers at the Qalandiya border crossing on April 27, 2016. (Israel Police)

Initially, the couple did stop and started walking away, but “suddenly” the two turned around, and the woman took a kitchen knife out of her purse. The Arab woman then “approached Border Police officers in guard posts with a knife in her hand,” police said.

When she got closer, the woman “threw [the knife] directly at an officer, who was unharmed,” police said.

“The officers and security guards worked quickly and shot at the terrorists, neutralizing them,” a spokesperson said.

A butcher’s knife and a Leatherman-style multi-tool were also recovered from the man’s belt, police said.

The female assailant was identified as 23-year-old Maram Salih Hassan Abu Ismail, based on an ID card found at the scene. The male attacker was later identified as Ibrahim Saleh Taha, 16, her brother. Both were said to be residents of Surif, a village in the central West Bank.

Qalandiya and the adjacent crossing between the West Bank and Israel have been frequent hotspots of conflict in the recent wave of violence that has rocked Israel since September.

Last week, IDF troops clashed with Palestinian residents of the city while carrying out a demolition order for the home of a terrorist who killed 23-year-old Shlomit Krigman in a January attack. Two soldiers were lightly injured in the scuffle when rocks were thrown at troops.