Police: Palestinian attempts to stab officer in Hebron, is shot
No Israeli troops injured in incident near Tomb of the Patriarchs; would-be attacker hospitalized
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
A Palestinian man armed with a knife attempted to attack Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, before he was shot by Israeli troops, police said.
The assailant, who ran at a Border Police officer with a knife while screaming, was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. His condition was not immediately known.
No Israeli troops were injured in the incident, which took place at a checkpoint in the West Bank city near the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Police originally said the attacker was also carrying a grenade and a pistol, which appeared to be fake. In a later statement on Thursday morning, police said that information was incorrect and based on suspicions, clarifying that no such items were located.
The would-be stabber was a Palestinian Hebron resident in his 20s, police said.
On Wednesday, a knife-carrying Palestinian man was arrested by Israeli security forces at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem, police said.
According to spokeswoman Luba Samri, the 21-year-old man drew a knife when asked to present his ID card at a checkpoint at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee camp. Police did not say if the man attempted to use the knife. The suspect was taken into custody unharmed, and no other injuries were reported.
Though a marked drop has been recorded by security officials in recent months, 41 Israelis, two Americans, a Briton, a Palestinian and an Eritrean national have been killed in the spate of stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks that began a year and a half ago.
According to AFP figures, some 250 Palestinians, a Jordanian and a Sudanese migrant have also been killed, most of them in the course of carrying out attacks, Israel says, and many of the others in clashes with troops in the West Bank and at the Gaza border, as well as in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks.
The spate of Palestinian attacks that began in October 2015 was dubbed the “lone wolf” intifada, as many of the attacks were carried out by individuals who were not connected to any terror group.
The Times of Israel Community.