Terrorist kills three people and wounds six in stabbing and car-ramming spree before being shot dead.
By World Israel News Staff
Three people were murdered and an additional six were wounded in a stabbing and car-ramming terror attack in Ariel’s industrial zone on Monday morning, several of them critically. The terrorist responsible for the attack was shot dead.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, a Palestinian man walked up to a security guard standing at the entrance to the Ariel Industrial Park and stabbed him multiple times.
Shortly afterwards, he is believed to have stabbed several more people at a gas station nearby. Footage from the gas station published online showed the terrorist approaching a man from behind and repeatedly stabbing him in the back. The assailant then stole a car and fled the scene, while security forces gave chase.
After driving a short distance, he exited the vehicle and stabbed two more people, before being shot by. In footage from the scene posted to social media, it appears that the terrorist was shot by nearby armed civilians, and not security forces or police officers.
At some point, the attacker is believed to have intentionally rammed a person using his vehicle, which left the victim critically injured.
Israeli authorities did not reveal whether the the attacker was affiliated with a specific terror group.
Magen David Adom paramedics said they had evacuated three victims in critical condition to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.
IDF forces are on the scene, searching the area to ensure that there are no additional perpetrators.
“On behalf of the Government and State of Israel, I send my condolences to the families of those murdered and my wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded,” Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement.
“We are relentlessly fighting terrorism with the full might of the IDF, ISA, and all the security forces. Recently, we have succeeded in dismantling extensive terrorist infrastructure and planning, but we must fight this war every day anew.
“Our security forces are working around the clock to protect the citizens of Israel and target terrorist infrastructure anytime, anywhere,” he said.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan blamed the outgoing Lapid government for the attack, saying that the terror incident demonstrated a “lack of governance and lack of deterrence.”
“The person who stands behind this wave of terror is the terrorist in a suit [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] Abu Mazen,” Dagan declared.
“The Israeli government must mark him as a security target. The Palestinian Authority is behind this wave of terror.”