Border Police arrest knife-wielding Palestinian near Hebron, thwart suspected stabbing
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: MAY 8, 2016 00:35
The Border Police prevented a stabbing attack outside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Friday.A police spokeswoman said suspicions were aroused Friday morning by a Palestinian man walking near the checkpoint at the Cave of the Patriarchs. Police asked him to stop, searched him, discovered a knife and arrested him. During the interrogation that followed, the 26-yearold man told police he had planned to attack the security forces near the Cave, the spokeswoman said.On Wednesday in Hebron, three Israelis attacked Raed Abu a-Rmeileh, a Palestinian, as he attempted to film them harassing two Palestinian girls, according to the Israeli nongovernmental group B’Tselem.“Raed Abu a-Rmeileh, a former volunteer with B’Tselem’s camera project, lifted his camera to document the settlers’ actions. In response, the settlers attacked him and his friend even before he began filming. One of the settlers hit Abu a-Rmeileh hard on the head with an unopened drink can. He fell to the ground,” B’Tselem said.The NGO charged that soldiers stood nearby and did not respond.It presented two video clips that showed portions of the attack, in which it was possible to see the soldiers at the scene, but the video shots were unclear and did not clearly show what the soldiers were doing.Abu a-Rmeileh lated filed a complaint and gave police the footage, according to B’Tselem, which said he also had identified photographs of his assailants.The IDF said officers had, in fact, responded to the incident by detaining the Israelis until police arrived and ensured that Abu a-Rmeileh received medical attention.Separately, on Thursday, Judea and Samaria police said they opened an investigation into the shooting deaths of two alleged Palestinian assailants at the Kalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem.According to initial reports, Maram Abu Ismail, 23, and her 16-year-old brother, Ibrahim Taha, were killed by police at the checkpoint as they attempted to stab security forces there. Later reports said security guards had shot and killed the siblings.Family members insist that the two are innocent and were on their way to a doctor’s appointment.Police have placed a gag order on details of the investigation and the identities of the shooters.
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