An Israeli man was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack that occurred at the Maoz Yehuda farm near Migdalim in Shomron on Monday morning.
The stabbing occurred after a Jewish resident of the farm approached a vehicle that drove onto the farm. The Palestinian terrorist driving the vehicle then stabbed the resident repeatedly before fleeing the scene.
MDA teams and a military medical unit dispatched to the farm provided emergency medical aid to the victim, who sustained penetrating wounds to his back, head, and chest, and evacuated him to Beilinson Hospital.
The victim described what happened: “A Palestinian terrorist arrived at the farm in a commercial vehicle, asked where my weapon was, and then got out with a knife, attacked me, stabbed me several times and fled.”
MDA emergency medical technician Aviel Mamelia said: “When we arrived at the scene, we saw a young man of about 20 who was fully conscious, with several stab wounds to his body. We provided him with initial medical treatment together with an IDF medical unit, and he was evacuated to the hospital in moderate to serious condition.”
A manhunt was launched immediately, including forces from the Duvdevan Unit, the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit, and Combat Intelligence Collection troops. IDF forces also imposed a closure on villages in the area.
The terrorist was found within a short time after forces located the commercial vehicle in which he fled following the attack. When the vehicle was stopped and the forces attempted to apprehend him, the terrorist tried to carry out another attack and stab the force commander, a company commander who was at the scene. The company commander responded by opening fire and eliminating him.
During the manhunt, it was discovered that the terrorist left behind two significant items at the scene of the attack: the knife with which he stabbed the young Israeli, which broke during the attack, and his cellphone, which fell at the scene and was found by security forces.
The terrorist’s identity was known to the security establishment.
Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said in response to the attack: “This is a very serious attack. I expect a full closure of the area, a broad military operation, going house to house to collect weapons, and crushing the infrastructure of terror supporters. I demand that all roads in the area be closed immediately, that the terrorist be captured, and that everyone who assisted him be brought to account. The yishuvim in the Shomron and all of Am Yisrael will not surrender to terror. We will continue to build, grow stronger, hold on to the land, and build the Shomron.”
The IDF stated: “Following the report regarding a stabbing attack, a terrorist armed with a knife stabbed an Israeli civilian and fled the area. Multiple IDF soldiers were dispatched to the area and launched a pursuit after the terrorist. The IDF has imposed a cordon on villages in the area.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
