The city of Hebron in the West Bank has become a focal point in the increasing tension between Israel and the Palestinian territories. The city is home to the Cave of the Patriarchs, one of the holy sites in both the Islamic and Judaic faiths. Last week, two Palestinian women were caught with knifes at the entrance to the Cave of the Patriarchs. On October 25, another woman was shot and killed at the same entrance when she tried to stab Israeli Border officers.
Now, we have three wounded after a driver intentionally ran them over near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Araba on the outskirts of the city. YnetNews reports that security forces fired upon the driver, who subsequently got away and is still at large. Luckily, it appears the three victims were only lightly-moderately wounded. Yet, earlier on Sunday, a Palestinian was shot and killed after he attempted to stab an Israeli solider in Hebron (via JPost):
According to the IDF, the attempted attack occurred during Palestinian riots in the area.No Israelis were wounded in the attack.
The suspected terrorist was shot and killed by security forces, the IDF stated.
The incident was the latest in a string of attempted stabbing attacks against security forces in the Hebron area.
On Saturday, ten Palestinian rioters were shot and injured by IDF Ruger rounds during a violent clash in the city.
An army spokeswoman said some 100 Palestinians launched a violent disturbance at the Hassam Shoter army position in the West Bank city, hurling rocks, Molotov cocktails, burning tires, and firing marbles from sling shots.
Adding more to this tragic list of events was the close call in Tel Aviv, where an inactive explosive device was found in a trashcan at an intersection that could have resulted in mass casualties. An Israeli family was also injured in a firebomb attack in the West Bank last month as well.
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While attacks against innocent Israelis don’t seem to be subsiding soon, the silver lining, for lack of a better term, is that security forces are becoming better at stopping would-be attackers. On October 27, in Jerusalem, an Israeli police officer spotted two Palestinian teenagers acting suspiciously. He asked for their identification from a distance and discovered they were armed with an axe and knife. The two teens were taken into custody.
Near the Israeli settlement of Tapuach, also located in the West Bank, an Israeli Border police officer foiled an attack when she spotted two men armed with knifes on a motorcycle heading towards her partner. She killed one of the attackers, while injuring the other (via YnetNews):
Corp. A'Corporal A’ joined the Border Police after immigrating to Israel from France. On Friday, she prevented a terrorist attack at the Tapuach junction. “I understood that if I hesitated for a second, the fighter beside me won’t be alive.”http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4718686,00.htmlVideo: Samaria Regional Council
Posted by Ynetnews on Friday, October 30, 2015
A female Border Police fighter, Corporal A’, foiled a terrorist attack on Friday, when she managed to neutralize two terrorists who attempted to stab a fellow border policeman at the Tapuach junction. Head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, said that he had visited the area and spoke to the border policewoman, who said, “I did my part. This is what I came to Israel for – to protect the country.”The two terrorists arrived on a motorcycle at around 12PM. Corp. A' quickly realized that the men had knives and were approaching her partner. A' rapidly cocked her weapon and shot them men. One of them was killed, and the other critically wounded. This was the first incident during the current terror wave where terrorists used a motorcycle in an attack. The two sped towards the Border Police fighters at the Tapuach junction.
“I understood that if I hesitated for a second, the fighter beside me won’t be alive anymore,” Corp. A' said. She reenacted the incident for Border Police Deputy Commissioner Uzi Levi, who heads the Border Police’s Judea and Samaria command, telling him, “We are ready and trained specifically for these events.” Her teammate was lightly wounded and treated on the scene.
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