Palestinian knife attack thwarted near Ariel

IDF says no injuries after Palestinian terrorist tried to stab soldiers, was captured after a short chase.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

A Palestinian tried to stab Israeli soldiers Sunday outside the city of Ariel in Samaria, but failed to injure anybody and was captured following a short chase in which shots were fired, the IDF said.

“A terrorist tried to stab IDF fighters operating in the area. There are no casualties to our forces,” the IDF tweeted. ” IDF forces launched a pursuit of the terrorist, carried out an arrest procedure that included firing [shots], and arrested him.”

The unidentified Palestinian man came up to an IDF guard post near the entrance to Ariel, 35 kilometers (21 miles) east of Tel Aviv.

The Palestinian was spotted by IDF troops as he approached and suddenly pulled a knife and charged the soldiers trying to stab them.

When he failed to do s0, he tried to flee the scene and was pursued by troops who opened fire and captured him. There were no initial reports of whether or not the terrorist was hit by the gunfire.

Palestinian leaders in both Ramallah and Gaza have called for opposition to the peace initiatives by President Donald Trump, with Hamas leaders calling on Palestinians to take up arms in opposition.

There have been numerous stabbings and car ramming attacks over the past several months as Palestinian violence continues on a daily basis.

Two weeks ago, Rabbi Shai Ohayon, 39, a father of four, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian man while walking home after an afternoon of study in the town of Kfar Saba.