It’s been another tense day in Israel, as three Palestinians attacked innocent Israelis near Tel Aviv. One Palestinian tried to stab a soldier near a checkpoint along the West Bank border and was shot and killed; his accomplice was arrested. The other two attacked civilians near Tel Aviv (via Reuters):
Now in its second month, the worst spate of violence since the 2014 Gaza war has been caused by tensions over Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews, and by deadlocked talks with Israel on Palestinian statehood.The Israeli military said troops approached two Palestinians at a petrol station near a checkpoint inside the West Bank boundary. One of them tried to stab a soldier and was shot dead, the army said. Palestinian officials said he was 16 years old.
The second Palestinian was arrested, the Israeli army said.
Later, a 19-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank city of Hebron stabbed three people in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Lezion before being overpowered and arrested, Israeli police said. They said two of those stabbed, one an 80-year-old woman, were in serious condition. The third was slightly hurt.
In Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, another West Bank Palestinian in his 20s stabbed a 70-year-old man, seriously wounding him, and was shot and wounded by police, Israeli authorities said.
Tel Aviv experienced a close call when an explosive device was found in a trashcan. Blessedly, it was discovered to be inactive. Hebron has been one of the focal points in the recent outbreak of violence. One Palestinian woman was killed after trying to attack Israeli Border police at the entrance of the Cave of the Patriarchs. Two more women were detained after it was discovered they had knives in their possession. Over the weekend, a driver intentionally ran three Israelis over near the settlement of Kiryat Araba outside of Hebron.
Sadly, we shouldn’t be shocked if more attacks occur throughout the week.