Sister and brother killed trying to stab policeman at Kalandiya checkpoint

Knife-wielding Arab female assailant approached security forces at checkpoint, police report; no injuries reported among Israeli forces.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Updated: APRIL 28, 2016 00:17
Scene of attempted stabbing attack at a checkpoint in Kalandiya
Police and Border police killed two Palestinian siblings Wednesday who attempted to stab an officer at the Kalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry identified the two assailants as Maram Abu Ismail, 23, and her 16-year-old brother, Ibrahim Taha.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the pair arose suspicion because they walked on a road through the checkpoint that is designated for vehicles, rather than heading through the section for pedestrians.
The woman had her hand in a bag and the teenager held one of his hands behind his back, she said.
Police ordered them to stop, but they didn’t, Samri said.
“The terrorists kept striding toward the police, who called continued to call on them to stop and to put down the bag,” she said.
When they were close to the officers they stopped and took a few steps back, Samri said.
Then the woman pulled out a knife from her bag and threw it directly at the police officer in front of her, Samri said.
“The police and the guard acted quickly. They shot at the terrorists and neutralized them,” Samri said.
Two knives, including one of the folding variety, were found in the belt of the male terrorist, she said.
The alertness and professionalism of the police prevented injuries to the security personnel and civilians, she said.
She added that the two Palestinians were from the West Bank village of Beit Tzurif southeast of Jerusalem according to police.
According to social media, Abu Ismail was the mother of two small girls.
(Credit: Police)
Her uncle Hassan Taha said that his niece and nephew were killed as they headed to a doctor’s appointment.
“She was taking her brother to the doctor for a treatment.
When they arrived to the checkpoint, they [police] shot them. They shot the girl and her brother threw himself on her [to protect her], and they shot him as well,” Taha said.
“What they [police] say is that they came to stab. If someone is going to stab, does she take her brother with her? This makes no sense. If someone wants to stab, she goes alone. She does not take her brother with her,” Taha said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, since September 13, Palestinians have carried out 78 stabbing attacks, 66 attempted stabbing attacks, 85 shootings and 42 vehicular attacks. These incidents claimed the lives of 34 people and wounded 382 others.
Last week, a terrorist from Beit Jala near Bethlehem detonated an explosion on a bus in Jerusalem that wounded 21 people.
So far this month, the number of incidents had dropped sharply. The attempted stabbing in Kalandiya on Wednesday was the fourth attack by Palestinians in April, according to data from the Foreign Ministry.
Since mid-September, the security forces have killed 193 Palestinians, of whom 130 were in the midst of executing attacks against Israelis.
The remainder were killed in violent clashes with the IDF or police.
Reuters contributed to this report.