BICOM

Four Israelis were injured yesterday in two separate attacks in the West Bank. A couple were shot in a drive-by shooting, while a soldier and a civilian were wounded in a stabbing in Hebron.

The shooting yesterday evening took place near the West Bank settlement of Avnei Hefetz, south of the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. At least 20 bullets were fired at the car being driven by Shaul Nir and his wife Rachel, both aged 60. Although Shaul was reported to have been struck in the head, neither was thought to be in a life-threatening condition. Shaul was previously a member of a Jewish underground terror group in the 1980s and served time in an Israeli prison for his activities. Following yesterday’s attack, Israel Radio news says that IDF forces entered a number of villages near Tulkarm.

Earlier in the day, a Palestinian man stabbed an IDF soldier near the Jewish enclave of Beit Hadassah in Hebron. A 20-year-old Israeli civilian, the son of former-Jewish Home MK Orit Struck, attempted to come to the soldier’s aid but was also stabbed. Both were moderately injured in the attack. A civilian security guard nearby eventually opened fire and killed the assailant at the scene.

Hebron, situated in the southern West Bank, has become a focal point for the recent violence, which has seen at least 21 Israelis killed since the start of October. On Monday, an Israeli man was critically injured following a knife attack near Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs. On Saturday, a Palestinian woman was arrested at the same spot after she pulled out a knife and the day before, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in a stabbing in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron.

Also yesterday, three Palestinian males aged 16-19 years old were arrested in the northern Israeli city of Afula in possession of large knives, suspected of intending to carry out a stabbing attack. All were from Jenin and none had permits to enter Israel.