A 13-year-old Palestinian girl who attempted to stab an Israeli security guard has been shot dead in the West Bank. The security guard shot and killed her before she was able to hurt him.
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Abu Eid quarreled with her family on Saturday morning and then left her home with a knife “intending to die”, the police said in a statement.
The knife-wielding teen ran toward a security guard at the entrance to Anatot settlement, near her family home, and he opened fire at her.
Police said her father, who had been searching the area for her, arrived too late at the scene of the attack.
Police said that initial investigations into Saturday’s settlement incident showed that the girl left her home in a nearby Palestinian village, feeling suicidal after arguing with her family.
Over 20 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinian individuals since October 1.
This is the first time Israel has revoked an attacker’s residency since the start of a four month-long outburst of violence that has killed 25 Israelis in near-daily Palestinian attacks.
Israel refused to release the last group as talks broke down that year, disputing that it had ever agreed to release Israeli Arabs, noting that the overall package of releases was agreed to as part of an effort to facilitate the talks, and blaming the Palestinian Authority for the talks’ failure. A 20-year-old Palestinian man, identified as Tamir Thiyab, lost an eye after being shot with a rubber bullet in the face.
“I call on the defense minister to give the settlers all the help he can, and not give in to the pressures of the Palestinian rioters”, Israeli Immigration Minister Zeev Elkin said on Thursday.
Israeli police have evacuated Israeli settlers from buildings they had raided and temporarily took over in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, as fearful residents say they have endured intimidation and attacks.
The United States, whose ambassador angered Israel this week with criticism of the Jewish state’s West Bank policies, said it was strongly opposed to any moves that accelerate settlement expansion.
The Hebron evacuation came on the heels of Israel confirming its controversial plan to seize land near Jericho, also in the West Bank, despite opposition to the move by the United Nations and the United States.
“I call on the defence minister to give the settlers all the help he can, and not give in to the pressures of the Palestinian rioters”.
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“Israel is stealing land specially in the Jordan Valley under the pretext it wants to annex it”, Ashrawi said.
