Border Police officer wounded in stabbing attack near Cave of Patriarchs in Hebron

Terrorist shot and killed, victim evacuated to hospital.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: MARCH 20, 2016 04:37
Cave of the Patriarchs (photo credit: REUTERS)
Cave of the Patriarchs
(photo credit: REUTERS)
One Border Police officer was lightly wounded and two Palestinian knife attackers were killed in West Bank violence over the weekend.
A Palestinian stabbed and lightly wounded a Border Police officer near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Saturday morning.
Another officer shot and killed the assailant, Abdullah Muhammad al-Ajlouni, 18.
Magen David Adom paramedics said it treated the officer for stab wounds to his upper body, and evacuated him in stable condition to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem in Jerusalem in stable condition.
An initial investigation found that Ajlouni, a resident of Hebron, arrived at the Pharmacy Checkpoint, not far from the parking lot near the Cave of the Patriarchs.
Border police stationed there asked to see his ID card. According to police spokeswoman Luba Samri, Ajlouni produced his card, and then took out a knife and stabbed one of the officers. The officer pushed him away, but Ajlouni tried again to stab him, Samri said. At that point, a second Border Policeman at the crossing shot and killed him.
Photos and a video clip of Ajlouni lying dead next to the checkpoint were circulated on social media. His body was handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent on Saturday evening. He will be buried on Sunday.
The commander of the Border Police forces at the checkpoint praised his unit’s response.
“We are witness to repeated attempts to harm civilians and security forces personnel who secure the Hebron area. The alertness of the forces, and their professional and rapid reaction, prevented attacks on others, and brought the event to a conclusion with only minor wounds,” the commander said.
In an unrelated incident on Friday, a Palestinian got out of a car at the Gush Etzion junction and tried to stab soldiers from the Heruv Battalion guarding the area. Soldiers opened fire to defend themselves, killing Muhammad Abu Fanouneh, 21, also from Hebron. He was buried on Saturday.
Also on Friday, police arrested two Palestinian minors with knives in the Sha’are Binyamin industrial area. Soldiers and riot police stopped and searched the two youths when they exited a vehicle and headed into the industrial park. Both were arrest for carrying a knife, said a spokesman for the Judea and Samaria police.