Palestinian arrested with knife, meat cleaver confesses to planning attack

A Palestinian man who was detained for questioning on Saturday due to suspicious activity and possession of weapons told authorities he planned to carry out a stabbing attack.

By: World Israel News Staff

On Saturday, Israeli police thwarted an attempted stabbing attack by arresting a Palestinian man carrying a knife and a meat cleaver near a Jewish community in Samaria.

Traffic officers operating outside of the town of Beit El observed the suspect acting suspiciously, prompting them to search the vehicle where the weapons were found, reported Times of Israel.

The suspect, a 28-year-old Palestinian from a village called Dura, confessed to police that he had planned to execute a stabbing attack, the police stated.

The incident marked the second time on Saturday that Israeli authorities detained a Palestinian carrying weapons near Jewish areas in Israel.

During the day, police caught a Palestinian at the Shuafat checkpoint near Jerusalem trying to pass through a metal detector with a knife.

Since 2015, Palestinians have carried out scores of fatal stabbing attacks, murdering Israeli civilians in public places such as bus stops and in their own homes.

One year ago, a 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist stabbed three family members to death in the Jewish community of Neve Tsuf in Samaria while the family gathered for a Shabbat meal to celebrate the birth of a new grandson.

In yet another incident in February, 29-year-old Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal was stabbed to death by a terrorist as the young father waited for a ride near the city of Ariel.

The terrorist in this case was an Arab with Israeli citizenship.