Security forces arrest Palestinian in stabbing

Palestinian resident of the West Bank arrested on suspicion of stabbing an Israeli security guard at the entrance to Ma’ale Adumim.

arrest  311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )
arrest 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )
Security forces arrested a Palestinian resident of the West Bank on suspicion of stabbing an Israeli security guard at the entrance to Ma’ale Adumim, police said Sunday.
The arrest was carried out by police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on January 27, but only revealed on Sunday due to the lifting of a media ban.
The suspect, named as 20- year-old Ala Hanaisha, confessed to stabbing and lightly injuring the guard.
Hanaisha is resident of Kabatiya, in the northern West Bank, and a student at an Abu Dis Islamic college, situated on the outskirts of east Jerusalem.
During questioning, he said the attack was motivated by nationalistic sentiment, police said.
Hanaisha said he arrived at a square at the entrance to Ma’ale Adumim and waited for Jewish residents to arrive in order to stab them.
After waiting for half an hour and seeing that none arrived, he lost patience and approached the checkpoint at the entrance to the town, where he stabbed the guard.
The guard was evacuated to hospital for treatment, and security forces launched a search of the area in the hours after the attack.