16-year-old badly wounded during second such incident at Israeli high school in 24 hours; Education Minister Shay Prion expresses concern.
By BEN HARTMAN
A 16-year-old student was stabbed and seriously wounded during a fight outside a local high school in Ashdod on Tuesday, the second such incident at an Israeli high school in 24 hours.The teen, who was stabbed multiple times in the upper body during the fight in the school’s parking lot, was taken to Rehovot’s Kaplan Medical Center in moderate to serious condition.The attackers fled the scene along with other suspects, but a few hours later police announced they had four people in custody.In the wake of the stabbing, Education Minister Shai Piron (Yesh Atid) said these events “require all of us to pause and reconsider things. We cannot let violence become part of the routine in Israeli society.”Piron said he had instructed counselors to provide guidance to students and relatives of students at the school, and that this had already begun. He added that at least for now, the ministry would have psychologists and counselors working extra hours at all schools.The ministry said it would provide special assistance to the victim during his rehabilitation.Tuesday’s stabbing followed an incident the day before when a 14-year-old stabbed a fellow student inside a classroom at the Herzliya Gymnasium high school in Tel Aviv. The attacker slashed his victim with a pair of scissors before fleeing on foot. He was apprehended soon after.