Police fan out in manhunt for Rahat stabber
Terrorist who stapped 65-year-old Jewish grandma is likely Palestinian worker illegally in Israel, says mayor of southern Bedouin town
Police on Sunday were setting up roadblocks and conducting widespread searches for an assailant who stabbed a 65-year-old Jewish woman in a market in the Bedouin town of Rahat on Saturday.
Shlomit Gonen of Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev suffered moderate wounds in the attack, and her assailant got away.
“Police units are still searching for the suspect who carried out the stabbing attack,” Israel Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said.
Police set up roadblocks at several junctions near the city overnight and are studying pictures from the scene of the attack to attempt to discover where the attacker fled to, according to the Walla news website.
The attacker was wearing a mask, according to eyewitnesses.
Police have stated that it is yet unknown whether the attacker is a Palestinian or an Israeli, although the attack is considered to be terrorist activity.
Rahat Mayor Talel al-Kirnawi strongly condemned the stabbing and emphasized that the attacker is most likely an undocumented Palestinian worker, according to Ynet News.
“There are over 7,000 undocumented Palestinians working in Rahat,” Kirnawi said. “We are appalled by this attack. The co-existence between Rahat and its Jewish neighbors will continue despite this attack, and we urge security forces to find the attacker as soon as possible.”
Gonen is expected to be released from the hospital later Sunday after being treated for wounds to her neck and ear. She said she didn’t realize she had been attacked at first.
“I was entering the market when [the attacker] came towards me. I felt a flick on my ear. Then my daughter came outside and told me I was bleeding. We shop in Rahat all the time and never feel threatened,” she told the Ynet news website.
Rahat citizens from the al-Kirnawi family visited the injured Gonen at Soroka hospital in Beersheba and wished her well.
