A Palestinian terrorist on Sunday afternoon stabbed and killed a 21 year-old Israeli girl, Hadar Buchris, as she stood at a bus stop in the Gush Etzion junction, south of Jerusalem, in the West Bank. He said despite attempts by medics to save her, she succumbed to her wounds.
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In an earlier attack, the military said a woman pulled out a knife at the entrance to a military base and began approaching civilians.
The Palestinians say the violence is rooted in frustration over almost a half century of Israeli occupation and lack of hope for obtaining independence. “If she tried to stab she did what she wanted”, he said. The attacker, identified as a resident of a Palestinian village near Ramallah, was shot and killed by a civilian at the scene, according to the IDF.
Later, a Palestinian driving a taxi attempted to ram into civilians then charged at them with a knife before being shot dead by a civilian, police said. Israeli politicians have encouraged licensed gun owners to carry their weapons during the latest wave of unrest.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended citizens for being on “maximum alert”.
“This is not terrorism by organisations”, he said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
Two Palestinian teenage girls stabbed a 70-year-old Palestinian man with scissors outside a central Jerusalem market on Monday before they were shot by police – in a fresh burst of violence ahead of the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The man, apparently mistaken for an Israeli, suffered wounds to his head and back, while a 27-year-old bystander was lightly wounded, apparently from bullet shrapnel, police said.
It was the third such Palestinian attack of the day in the West Bank and the second terror attack at the same junction in the last four days.
Eighty-three Palestinians in all have been killed, a few while carrying out attacks and others in clashes with Israeli forces, while 19 Israelis and an American student have been killed in Palestinian stabbings, shootings and vehicle rammings.
Almost 90 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of October – many shot dead under circumstances in which rights groups said that Israeli forces used unnecessary force – while at least 16 Israelis have been killed in the same period.
The current wave of unrest began in mid-September over tensions surrounding a sensitive Jerusalem holy site.
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Israel says the violence stems from Palestinian incitement and incendiary videos on social media.
