J’lem: Stabbing attack thwarted
Soldiers manning checkpoint 300, near Jerusalem, detain young Palestinian woman after finding knife during routine search of her belongings; woman tells interrogators she arrived at checkpoint to stab police officer
Soldiers manning checkpoint 300, located south of Jerusalem, detained Saturday a young Palestinian woman after finding a knife during a routine search of her belongings.
Later the woman told interrogators she arrived at the checkpoint with the intent of stabbing a police officer; no injuries were reported in the incident.
Earlier a 17-year-old Palestinian was caught with to operational pipe bombs at the Salem checkpoint, near Jenin.
It is estimated that the youngster planned to detonate the bombs at the checkpoint. Eyewitnesses claimed the teen said after his arrest: “I want to explode on the soldiers.”
IDF sources said the incident does not mark the first time Palestinians have attempted to attack soldiers at IDF checkpoints, saying that in the past terrorists arrived at an army checkpoint near Tul Karm and at a checkpoint near Bethlehem.
On October 10 another 17-year-old Palestinian, armed with a knife, attempted to stab soldiers at the Salem checkpoint; on October 9, 2003 a suicide bomber blew himself up at an IDF base in Tul Karm; two soldiers were injured - one moderately and the other lightly – in the incident.
The sources added that terror groups are attempting to carry out attacks in Israel, but as they are unable to infiltrate the country, they make due with ‘easy targets’ and attack checkpoints.
Palestinian tries to throw bomb at troops
For the second time this week, two Palestinian teens carrying switchblades were caught at the Harawa junction, south of Nablus. A short while later a Palestinian teen carrying an M-16 rifle bullet cartridge was nabbed at the same checkpoint.
Late Friday IDF soldiers killed a Palestinian in the Hebron area, after fearing the man was going to detonate an explosive device near them.
IDF sources reported that soldiers engaged in a routine operation heard an explosion and later identified a Palestinian in the area acting suspiciously. The soldiers shot at the Palestinian and killed him.
Border Guard sappers were dispatched to the scene in order to check whether the Palestinian was carrying an explosive device and whether such device caused the explosion.
IDF sources said an examination of the Palestinian’s body found remnants of a bomb that had apparently exploded as the Palestinian attempted to hurl it in the soldiers’ direction.
