An Israeli was lightly wounded Thursday in a stabbing attack at Ganim in the northern West Bank, the second such attack in the area within hours, the IDF said.
According to an initial military report, a terrorist stabbed the victim at a temporary post established to receive residents at the former settlement. The victim was apparently wounded in the leg.
Forces at the scene of the attack at Havat Derech Avraham
(Photo: IDF)
Soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion shot and killed the terrorist.
Ganim was evacuated during Israel’s 2005 disengagement. The Cabinet approved a return to the community in December 2025 following a decision promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz. Thursday’s attack occurred at a temporary site established there ahead of the arrival of residents.
The stabbing came hours after two Palestinian terrorists seriously wounded an Israeli civilian near Havat Derech Avraham, close to Alon Moreh.
The earlier attack began as Israeli civilians attempted to extinguish a fire that had broken out near the farm, according to the IDF. During the firefighting effort, the two terrorists stabbed 51-year-old Itamar Cohen, one of the founders of the agricultural farm movement in the West Bank.
Another Israeli civilian at the scene opened fire and killed both attackers.
Cohen suffered stab wounds to his chest and body. Magen David Adom medics and an IDF medical team treated him at the scene before an Israeli Air Force Unit 669 helicopter evacuated him to a hospital in serious condition.
MDA emergency medic Israel Arbus said medical teams had been providing coverage for the firefighting operation when civilians alerted them to the stabbing.
“While we were providing medical coverage for the fire, civilians shouted to us that a man had been wounded in a stabbing,” he said. “We immediately ran to the scene and saw a man suffering from stab wounds to his body.”
“We provided lifesaving medical treatment, including stopping the bleeding, and together with an IDF medical team evacuated him to the hospital in serious condition.”
Firefighters from the Samaria district, local volunteers, community emergency personnel and security forces worked to contain the blaze. Two firefighting aircraft from the Elad Squadron were also deployed after commanders assessed the terrain and weather conditions.
The IDF initially said Palestinians from the nearby village of Beit Furik had started the fire, but later corrected its statement and said the cause had not yet been determined.
Investigators from Israel Fire and Rescue Services and Israel Police opened a joint investigation into the circumstances of the blaze.
Following the attack, IDF troops conducted searches in the Beit Furik area and imposed a temporary cordon on the village.