BICOM

A 26-year-old Israeli man was wounded yesterday after he was stabbed by a Palestinian man while re-fuelling his car at a petrol station on a busy motorway near Jerusalem.

The attack occurred at a petrol station on the 443 motorway, between Modi’in and Jerusalem, near the Ofer junction. The motorway, which is one of two major routes connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, traverses through the West Bank in places and motorists must pass through military roadblocks. The wounded man was reportedly re-fuelling his car when he received stab wounds to his back and shoulder. He was evacuated by private vehicle to the Ofer roadblock for initial treatment by military medics, before being taken to a hospital in Jerusalem with moderate wounds.

One of the assailants was shot and killed by IDF forces as he attempted to escape. However, security forces believe that up to three accomplices were involved and have yet to be apprehended. Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the dead attacker came from a village near the 443 motorway.

The incident comes just days after a Palestinian driver deliberately ran down and injured three Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, near Shiloh. A fourth soldier opened fire and wounded the terrorist. The injured soldiers and the attacker were all evacuated to hospitals in Israel for treatment and two of the victims remain hospitalized.

Also last week, three Israelis were injured after a firebomb struck a car in north Jerusalem. A 27-year-old woman in the car suffered first and second degree burns to 15 per cent of her body and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The recent attacks come amid heightened tension in Jerusalem and the West Bank after an 18-month-old Palestinian baby and his father died in an arson attack two weeks ago, thought to have been carried out by Jewish extremists. The blaze was thoroughly condemned by Israeli leaders who termed it an act of terror.