Palestinian tries to stab soldier at checkpoint
Troops manning crossing west of Nablus manage to subdue man who lunged at female soldier with knife, take him into custody
A stabbing attack was thwarted at the Beit Iba checkpoint on Thursday evening after soldiers were able to prevent a Palestinian man from harming one of their female colleagues.
The man arrived at the crossing, located northwest of the West Bank city of Nablus, withdrew a knife and lunged one of the female soldiers manning the checkpoint. The soldiers were able to subdue the attacker before any injuries were caused.
In a subsequent search of the man's belongings troops uncovered an improvised explosive device (IED) and several rifle bullets. The explosives were disposed of in a controlled manner by Border Guard sappers. The would-be stabber was arrested and taken for questioning.
In a separate incident on Thursday, security forces seized a 10cm knife found concealed on the person of a Palestinian man at the Hawara checkpoint, located south of Nablus. The man was taken into custody.
Last month a stabbing plot was foiled after Border Guard troops arrested a 16-year-old Palestinian youth,
a resident of Hebron, who was suspected of planning to stab worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
The soldiers spotted the youth as he passed by them en route from the Kasbah, and noticed one of his socks appeared to be bulging. They called for him to stop several times, at which point he withdrew the knife and began advancing towards their position.
The youth dropped the weapon after one of the Border Guard soldiers cocked his weapon. He was taken into custody for questioning.
