Palestinian with knife arrested outside West Bank settlement

The IDF arrested a Palestinian carrying a knife just outside a settlement in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, foiling what a settler leader said could have been a terror attack.

Israeli troops were dispatched to the area after the suspect was identified outside Itamar, the army said, adding that soldiers fired into the air in order to carry out the arrest.

The suspect, who was found to be carrying a knife, was transferred for interrogation, the army said, adding that it was still probing the circumstances and motive of the incident.

However, according to a statement from the Samaria Regional Council, Itamar’s civilian security squad had already detained the man by the time the IDF arrived.

The security team been carrying out a routine drill when they spotted the suspect trying to cut the fence.

“The members of the civilian security squad ran after him, and the terrorist tried to attack them after being threatened. Upon realizing that he had been caught, the suspect threw his knife on the ground,” the statement said, adding that the settlers apprehended the suspect until the army arrived.