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Photo: AFP

Palestinian woman pours acid on soldier

IDF soldier manning Nablus checkpoint loses sight after Palestinian woman hurls acidic substance into his eyes. Army slams 'cynical use' of humanitarian aid at crossings

An IDF soldier has lost sight in one of his eyes after a Palestinian woman attacked him with acid at the Hawara checkpoint on Monday afternoon. The checkpoint is located south of the West Bank city of Nablus.

 

Troops managed to apprehend the woman, who is believed to have carried out a similar attack several weeks ago at the same crossing. She was arrested and taken for questioning. The soldier was evacuated to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva for treatment.

 

In the previous incident, the woman arrived at the Hawara checkpoint and attempted to cross through the humanitarian aid lane, which is meant for medical emergencies and therefore has limited security.

Upon approaching the soldier manning the lane, she threw acid at his face and then ran back towards Nablus.

 

IDF forces are implementing a more lenient policy at checkpoints as part of the military's efforts to ease restrictions on the Palestinian population during the month of Ramadan. Military sources said it is was unfortunate Palestinians were "cynically abusing" the IDF's humanitarian efforts.

 

The Hawara checkpoint has been the scene of many arrests in which Palestinians were apprehended trying to smuggle weapons and explosives into Israel.

 

The past two months have seen a 16-year-old boy arrested with two pipe bombs and a knife, and an 18-year old Palestinian arrested after a search of his person yielded six pipe bombs, a rifle magazine and gun powder.

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.22.08, 11:06
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