Palestinian woman caught with knife in Hebron, says she planned attack
Suspect in her 30s arrested after raising suspicions of Border Police officers near Tomb of Patriarchs
A woman was arrested Tuesday carrying two concealed knives near in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the woman, in her 30s, approached a checkpoint near the site, where her behavior raised the suspicions of the Border Police.
When police searched her bag they found two knives hidden inside. They arrested the woman, who allegedly admitted that she planned to carry out a terror attack.
She was transferred to security forces for questioning, police said.
The shrine, revered as the final resting place of the Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, is also revered by Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque.
The flashpoint city of Hebron, where Palestinians live in close proximity to settlers who are guarded by Israeli troops, has been the scene of numerous stabbings and attempted stabbings since Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated over a year ago.
Last week a young Palestinian man was caught at the holy site with a knife, and told security officials he intended to carry out a stabbing attack.
There were at least three knife attacks carried out against IDF soldiers in September and numerous Palestinians arrested with knives before carrying out attacks.
In the past year, Israel saw a wave of so-called “lone-wolf” Palestinian terror attacks, which has claimed the lives of 37 Israelis and four foreign nationals since October 2015. Over 200 Palestinians have also been killed in the past year, with the Israeli army and police saying that most of those killed were attackers or involved in clashes with security forces.
