Three Israelis were killed and at least four seriously injured in a multiple attack by a Palestinian near Ariel, a Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank. After stabbing a security guard and another civilian at the entrance to an industrial park, the assailant moved to a nearby gas station, where he stabbed two other people and stole a vehicle.
On his escape down the highway, he rammed the car into other drivers. He quickly got out, stabbed another Israeli and commandeered another car, which he drove in the opposite direction. A paramedic, who urgently treated one of the wounded on the asphalt, heard shouts of "terrorist, terrorist!" Turning around, she saw the attacker approach the knife-wielding area, and managed to stab another person. Armed soldiers and civilians managed to corner him, and he was gunned down on the roadside by a conscript.
Thousands of Palestinians living in nearby towns work in the Ariel industrial park, so the deployment of security forces and checkpoints could limit their arrival at their jobs. The attacker, identified by the Palestinian health ministry as Muhammed Souf (18 years old), was from Hares, less than 10 kilometers from the site of the attack.
Eli Shviro, mayor of Ariel, immediately went to the scene of the attack together with the huge deployment of security forces. “It is a difficult day but nobody will break us. It is about a terrorist who had a work permit, 5,000 Palestinians who only seek to earn a living work here. A single man can damage thousands of lives”, he declared to the local press. “It is a hard blow, which affects the factory of life that we are trying to promote. Our role is not to give in to the terrorism's desire for us to leave this place,” he added referring to the commitment to maintain the Israeli presence in the West Bank. Hours later, Jewish civilians planted national flags at the scene.
From Palestinian cities such as Nablus or Jenin, attacks against Jewish soldiers and settlers have been redoubled in recent weeks, and the Israeli army has carried out constant raids to make arrests. So far this year, more than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank – most involved in attacks or riots – and 26 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian attacks. It is estimated that some 2,000 Palestinians have been detained in military operations.
Immediately after the multiple attack in Ariel, Hebrew soldiers launched a massive operation to try to locate a suspect who may have assisted the attacker. Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid tweeted that “Citizens of Israel face a difficult morning, with a terrorist hitting Ariel hard. On behalf of the government, I send my condolences to the families of those killed and a speedy recovery to the injured.”
As usual, in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian towns in the West Bank they celebrated the death of the three Israelis by handing out sweets in the streets. On Highway 5, where the crashes occurred and the attacker was killed, the troops and medical services managed to quickly clear the area to resume traffic.
In Israel, there was consternation that a single knife-wielding attacker was able to cause so much damage in an area with a heavy military presence. This is not the first time that a Palestinian with a work permit in Jewish settlements has carried out attacks. The security forces tried to clarify why the industrial park guard did not immediately shoot the assailant. Apparently, he fired shots into the air, with the intention of avoiding harming other workers who arrived at the scene. Given the escalation of tension in the heart of the West Bank, the unknown is whether it was an isolated event or new attacks will be repeated.
