Israel sends more troops to West Bank after deadly stabbing attack

Israel is beefing up its military presence in the West Bank following a stabbing attack which left three Israelis dead and one injured. The assault coincides with escalating tensions over the contested sacred site in Jerusalem.


Following the attack in the West Bank settlement of Halamish, Israel increased its security alert level and dispatched thousands of additional troops to the area, Haaretz reports, citing IDF official.

The attack occurred Friday night, when a 20-year-old Palestinian, identified as Omar al-Abed, got into an Israeli household in the settlement, killing three and wounding one. The attacker was subsequently shot by a neighbor, a vacationing Israeli soldier, according to an IDF statement.

The assailant’s father said Saturday that he thought his son was upset with the loss of Palestinian lives in the ongoing violence in Jerusalem, as well as wanting to protect “honor” of the holy site in Jerusalem, AP reported.

The Israeli military imposed a blockade on the village of Khobar Saturday, where the attacker lived, making exceptions for unspecified “humanitarian cases.” The military searched his family house and subsequently detained his brother.

The Israeli blockade around the village prompted clashes between IDF troops and local Palestinian youth, who hurled stones and other objects at the soldiers. The troops responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas.

Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, along with top military commanders, visited the scene of the attack, ordering the demolition of the attacker’s home in retaliation. Lieberman also called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn the attack, describing it as a “slaughter.”
  [rt.com]
22/7/17
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