Soldiers foil stabbing, kill would-be attacker in Hebron

A Palestinian was shot and killed in Hebron as he attempted to stab an Israeli soldier, the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday night.

The would-be attacker drew a knife and tried to stab a soldier as his ID was checked at a “crossing” in the West Bank city, the army said in a statement.

“The force responded to the immediate danger with fire towards the attacker, resulting in his death,” the statement read.

The thwarted attack took place in the small Israeli enclave of Tel Rumeida in the divided city. The soldier was not injured in the attempted attack.

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Hebron, home to several hundred Jewish families among a larger Palestinian population, has become a flashpoint in an ongoing round of violence. Earlier in the day, a protest against Israel’s refusal to hand over attackers bodies to families for burial turned violent, with dozens of Palestinians reportedly injured.

The city has also seen near-daily stabbing attacks over the last two weeks.

The foiled Hebron attack was the third of its kind in the area in as many days, and the second attack in the southern West Bank Tuesday night.

Several hours before the attack, a soldier was moderately wounded in a stabbing by two assailants at the Etzion junction, between Hebron and Jerusalem.

The two attackers stabbed the soldier, 19, in his head before other soldiers stationed in the area shot them. Both assailants were killed, according to an Israel Police spokesman.

The stabbing took place as soldiers approached two suspicious-looking Arab men at a bus stop, an IDF spokeswoman told The Times of Israel.

The army was searching the area to ensure there were no other attackers, according to Channel 2. The attack took place at the Etzion Junction, which has been the scene of several attacks in the past two weeks.

On Monday, an Israeli soldier was stabbed and seriously injured in an attack near Hebron.

The attacker was shot and killed by other troops as he carried out the knife attack near the entrance to the Palestinian village of Beit Anun, north of Hebron, the IDF said.

On Sunday, a woman attempted to stab soldiers at a checkpoint in Hebron, and was shot and killed by troops at the scene, the army said.

There were no injuries in that attack. Earlier in the day, a man was stabbed by assailants after his car was stoned on a road east of the Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.