Police: Eilat stabbing in October was a terror attack

A stabbing attack by an Arab Israeli in Eilat last month that left a woman lightly wounded was a terror attack, Israel Police said Thursday. An indictment for the suspect is expected in the coming days.

Local police arrested the 24-year-old Umm al-Fahm resident in the immediate aftermath of the October 29 attack. It was initially suspected that the attack had a criminal motivation, but the man later admitted that he had been influenced by video footage of previous terror attacks against Israelis.

The suspect was caught not far from where he carried out the attack, despite having managed to change clothes while fleeing. Even after the arrest, local police commander Kobi Cohen instructed officers to continue searching for an assailant, fearing that the man apprehended may not be responsible.

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The suspect confessed, however, during questioning by police officers and members of the Shin Bet security service. He told investigators that Palestinian nationalistic sentiment was one of the motives for the attack, police said, and admitted to being influenced by clips of recent terror attacks that had been aired by the media and appeared on social network websites.

Police Commander Kobi Cohen on November 12, 2014 (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

Material pertaining to the investigation was transferred to the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office ahead of an indictment, which is expected to be served in coming days.

Cohen said that police “will continue to operate with more officers, while cooperating with other security agencies to safeguard the citizens of and visitors to the city. In this case, as in others around the country, a quick response by the police led to the quick capture of the suspect and to an investigation that culminated in an indictment.”