IDF thwarts ‘tourist-terrorist’ stabbing attack in Hebron

A terrorist planned to commit a stabbing attack at the Cave of the Patriarchs while seeking entry with a group of tourists.

By David Jablinowitz, World Israel News

A Palestinian man in his twenties has been arrested after trying to gain access to the Cave of the Patriarchs on Sunday together with a group of tourists, Israel Police said.

The man is said to have aroused the attention of the police when they spotted him in the middle of the group and noticed that he did belong with the tourists. Police said that he was acting suspiciously in an apparent effort to gain entry to the site.

They moved him away from the others and conducted a more thorough search on him. “When the suspicion grew stronger, the soldiers aimed their weapons and at that point, the suspect drew the knife that had been concealed in his clothing, threw it to the ground, and raised his hands,” a police statement said.

The man was identified as a resident of Hebron. Police said that he acknowledged planning to carry out an attack. Jews and Arabs live in close proximity in the city.

The city was divided, though mostly under Palestinian Authority control, in 1997, under the terms of an agreement reached during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first term in office

The Cave of the Patriarchs is the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. There is separation to keep Jewish and Muslim worshippers apart.