Palestinian tries to stab soldier in northern West Bank, is shot by troops, IDF says
Assailant ‘neutralized’ near HQ of regional military brigade; no soldiers hurt, no word on attacker’s condition; video shows man approaching 2 soldiers, apparently with knife drawn
A Palestinian tried to stab an Israeli soldier in the northern West Bank on Tuesday morning before being shot by troops on the scene, the military said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it received reports of a stabbing attempt near the headquarters of the Samaria Regional Brigade.
“A terrorist armed with a knife began running toward soldiers guarding the area, the fighters responded with gunfire,” the military said in a statement, adding that the assailant had been “neutralized.”
There was no immediate word on his condition.
No troops were hurt.
Surveillance footage appeared to show a man running toward two soldiers. Reports said he was holding a knife in his hand.
The man came within a few yards of the troops before they apparently shot him.
תיעוד: ניסיון הפיגוע ליד חטיבת שומרון.
המחבל מתקרב לעבר הלוחמים ומעורר את חשדם, ובשלב מסוים פותח בריצה עם סכין שלופה בידו ומנוטרל תוך שניות@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/5KPHQNjfaS— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) May 17, 2022
Images from the scene showed several soldiers standing around a person lying on the ground.
“The order is clear – strike the terrorists wherever they are, with all types of weaponry,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said later in the day after meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi and other senior commanders at a military base in the West Bank.
“Whoever raises a hand against an Israeli citizen or soldier will have his blood on his head,” the premier added.
Tuesday’s incident came amid heightened tensions amid ongoing military operations in the West Bank, as several of the terrorists in a recent spate of deadly attacks came from Jenin. Numerous Palestinians have also been killed during that time, mostly in clashes with Israeli forces.
Last week prominent Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead in clashes between armed Palestinians and Israeli soldiers while covering a military raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.
Palestinian officials and witnesses, including journalists who were with her, say she was killed by army fire. The military, after initially saying Palestinian gunmen might have been responsible, later backtracked and now says she may have been hit by errant Israeli fire, but a conclusive ruling is not yet possible.
The journalist’s death further ratcheted up tensions, and on Friday, Sgt. Maj. Noam Raz, a veteran officer of the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit, was shot and killed in an Israeli operation near Jenin, in the town of Burqin.
