Reservist moderately injured in stabbing attack outside West Bank army base

Soldier knifed in face, upper torso; female civilian lightly injured by shrapnel as troops fire at assailant, who manages to escape

Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.

Two people were injured in a stabbing attack outside an army base in the northern West Bank on Thursday, the army said.

An Israeli soldier was moderately hurt, sustaining stab wounds to the face and upper body. A civilian woman, 26, was lightly injured by a ricochet from shots fired at the assailant, who fled the scene.

“IDF troops are searching for the terrorist,” the army said.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., the stabber attacked the Israeli soldier, a 30-year-old reservist, with a knife, outside the Shomron Regional Brigade headquarters in the northern West Bank, near the Itamar settlement, the Israel Defense Forces said. He then ran away.

Other IDF soldiers on the scene opened fire at the assailant. Shrapnel from the shots struck the woman in the leg. The stabber may have fled in a waiting car nearby, Hadashot TV news said.

The scene of a stabbing attack in the northern West Bank on October 11, 2018. (Courtesy)

The two victims were taken to Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital for treatment.

The reservist sustained stab wounds to the face and upper body. He was fully conscious when he was brought into the hospital, according to his doctors.

Israeli troops take part in operations in the northern West Bank village of Shuweika on October 7, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)

On Sunday, a Palestinian terrorist shot and killed two of his coworkers — Kim Levengrond Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi — and wounded a third, Sara Vaturi, in the northern West Bank’s Barkan Industrial Park where he was employed.

The suspect, Ashraf Na’alowa, fled the scene and has eluded capture, according to the Israeli military. The hunt for the suspected terrorist entered its fifth day Thursday.

On Thursday, Na’alowa’s sister Fayrouz was arrested at her home in the West Bank city of Nablus in connection with the manhunt for her brother, the Shin Bet said. Fayrouz had previously been questioned by Israeli forces, but was released. Na’alowa’s brother was arrested the day after the attack.

Ashraf Walid Suleiman Na’alowa, a Palestinian man suspected of carrying out a deadly terror attack on October 7, 2018 in the Barkan Industrial Zone in the northern West Bank. (Courtesy).

The Shin Bet refused to say on what grounds Fayrouz was arrested. Na’alowa’s mother and other sisters were also detained and brought in for questioning following the attack, but were later released.

Officials reportedly believe that Na’alowa, who is said to have left a suicide note before the attack, is preparing to engage troops when they close in on him in a firefight that could turn deadly.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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