Stabbing attacks return to central Israel
Three wounded, including 80-year-old, by knife attack in Rishon LeZion; 71-year-old stabbed in Netanya.
Terror returned to central Israel on Monday evening, with two stabbing attacks carried out within hours of each other.
A 71-year-old man was stabbed and seriously wounded in Netanya. He was taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition. Police shot and wounded the terrorist, a Palestinian resident of Tulkarm.
Earlier, a Palestinian stabbed three people in an attack that began on a bus and continued into the street in Rishon LeZion at the end of the afternoon.
The attacker in Netanya, a 25-year old resident from Tulkarm, fled into the courtyard of a building before being shot and wounded by police. A passerby was arrested for allegedly attacking the assailant.
The terrorist in Rishon LeZion stabbed a 35-year-old man on a street corner, seriously wounding him. He continued to a commercial area on an adjacent street, where he stabbed another person, who was lightly wounded. He then attacked an 80-year-old woman outside a cosmetics store, severely wounding her. A store employee shut the door. Passersby got hold of the terrorist, a 19-year-old resident of Hebron, and brought him into the store, where he was held down until police arrived and arrested him.
Part of the spree was captured on video by a CCTV camera.
Dozens of people gathered at the scene following the evacuation of the wounded, holding images of Meir Kahane, signs reading "Jewish blood is not cheap" and shouting "death to terrorists".
A senior paramedic with MDA, Yoni Ohayun, was on the scene. "When we arrived at the scene we saw an 80-year-old woman laying near a bakery on the floor on Herzl Street," he said. "She was fully conscious and suffering from a stab wound to her upper body. We provided first aid and evacuated her to Asaf Haropeh hospital in moderate-serious condition."
The journey by car from Hebron to Rishon LeZion is about 100 kilometers. Rishon LeZion is around 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv.
Earlier in the day, a terrorist was shot and killed after he attempted to stab a group of soldiers near Jalame crossing in the Gilboa.
A force from the Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion arrived at the gas station and noticed two suspicious men. One of the men attempted to stab one of the soldiers and was shot. IDF medics were treating the man on scene.
The attempted attack follows a week of unrelenting violence in the West Bank, mostly centered on the city of Hebron, which has a notable presence of Hamas supporters.
The Palestinian terrorst killed in the incident was later identified as Ahmed Abu Al-Rub (17) from Qabatiya, near Jenin.
Yoav Zitun, Ahiya Raved, Eli Senor, and Elisha Ben Kimon contributed to this article.
