Israel/Palestinian Terr.: Palestinian shot dead after attempted stabbing Oct. 15

Event

A Palestinian man was shot dead after attempting to stab an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier at a bus stop near Ariel (West Bank) on Monday, October 15. The IDF soldier was not wounded in the incident. Further Palestinian stabbing attacks targeting Israeli security forces are possible in the West Bank in the near-term.

Context

The would-be Palestinian assailant was reportedly from Biddya (West Bank); a Palestinian woman from the same village was allegedly killed by Israeli settlers on October 13, who threw stones at her car and gave her a fatal head injury while she was driving to her home. Israeli authorities did not immediately announce if there was a potential connection between the incidents.

Similar stabbing attacks have been witnessed in the West Bank in recent days. Notably, on October 11, a Palestinian man wounded an IDF reservist soldier in a stabbing attack outside the Samaria Territorial Brigade base near Maskit Junction, close to the Jewish settlements of Har Brakha and Itamar.

Advice

Individuals in the West Bank are advised to monitor developments to the situation, report all suspicious objects and behavior to police, and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities and their home governments. Some Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Israeli-Lebanese, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Egyptian borders.