Rosh Ha’ayin stabbing victim: Terrorist stabbed me 28 times, but I won

An Israeli man seriously injured in a suspected terror attack last month said Wednesday he was stabbed 28 times by the Palestinian assailant.

Refael Levi, 31, was violently attacked in Rosh Ha’ayin on August 15 at a construction site in the central city of Rosh Ha’ayin. Initial reports about the stabbing indicated it had occurred during a fight of some kind, but officials later said it was being investigated as a terror attack and that the suspected attacker was a Palestinian man who had entered Israel illegally.

Levi, a resident of Ashkelon, was hospitalized at Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Medical Center in serious condition.

“The terrorist, may he be damned, managed to stab me 28 times and injured me very, very badly. I nearly lost my life, but I won!” Levi wrote on Facebook.

He added: “Today three weeks later I’m standing on my feet… That’s my answer to terrorism and that’s my answer to the terrorist. They teach their children to murder and hate, we teach ours to live and love!”

The suspect in the attack, who initially fled the scene, was later arrested in his hometown of Jenin, the Shin Bet security service said last month.

Police said they also arrested three other people, who are believed to have assisted the suspect.

“The suspect has been handed over for interrogation by the Shin Bet. All other details about the investigation are subject to a gag order,” the Shin Bet said.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.