An Israeli man was killed and two others were injured in a stabbing attack by a Palestinian terrorist who had climbed over the perimeter fence in the West Bank settlement of Adam, near Ramallah.
31-year-old father of two Yotam Ovadia died of his wounds.
The assailant, identified as 17-year-old Mohammed Tarek Yousef, from the village of Kubar, climbed over the security fence around the settlement before 9pm. He then walked deeper into the settlement, crossing a playground area, where he encountered the 31-year-old resident Yotam Ovadia, and stabbed him repeatedly in the upper torso. A second resident, the 58-year-old, came out of a nearby home and was also stabbed.
A third resident, hearing the disturbance, went outside and, realising that an attack was occurring, shot the Palestinian terrorist three times, killing him.
Hamas branded the attack a an act of heroism and revenge for three fighters who were killed in Gaza on Wednesday.
An hour before the attack, Mohammed Yousef published a lengthy Facebook post condemning Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank, and declaring that “the time has come for a great revolt”. In the hours after the attack, the post was being widely shared and praised by Palestinian users of the social network.
According to reports by Israeli news channel Hadashot TV, the terrorist encountered two Bedouin en route to his attack, and told him he was about to carry it out. The Bedouin hurried to the settlement to alert the authorities there, but were too late to prevent the attack, the report said.
Attempted stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks by Palestinians throughout the West Bank and Israel have decreased in the past year after near-daily occurrences during the so-called “knife Intifada” which began in September 2015.
