Two Palestinians were shot dead after allegedly stabbing and injuring two Israeli women in the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit Horon west of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank on Monday, Israeli police said.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba Samri said “two terrorists approached a grocery store in Beit Horon and stabbed a woman,” before they then “fled the scene.” She said that as they were fleeing, “the two then stabbed another woman before a security guard neutralized them.”
Samri later clarified that both Palestinians had been shot dead.
One Israeli woman, 40, was seriously injured after she was stabbed in the “upper part” of her body, while another woman, 60, sustained light wounds, Samri said.
She added that two explosive devices were also found after police searched the area.
Another Israeli police spokesperson, Micky Rosenfeld, said that Israeli police units were “looking into” the identity of the two Palestinians, and that “heightened security in the areas continues.”
On Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian girl was shot dead after Israeli police said she attempted to stab an Israeli security guard outside an illegal West Bank settlement northeast of Jerusalem.
Police said the girl approached a gate leading into the Anatot settlement, also known as Almon, before attempting to stab a the security guard.
The guard shot and fatally wounded the 13-year-old, and she died on site shortly after.
Less than a week before, on Jan. 18, a 15-year-old Palestinian from the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem stabbed and severely injured a 30-year-old pregnant Israeli woman.
The day before, a suspected Palestinian attacker stabbed and killed an Israeli woman after breaking into a home in the illegal Israeli settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron city.
The attacker fled the scene, although Israeli forces later detained a 15-year-old suspect identified as Mourad Adais from the Hebron-district city of Yatta, east of the Otniel settlement on Jan. 19.
In response to the two attacks, Palestinians were banned from working in Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“In light of the daily situation assessment following recent terror attacks, security measures have been taken,” an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an last week.
“As of today, Palestinian workers cannot enter Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria,” the spokesperson said at the time, referring to the occupied West Bank.
The duration of the ban could not be confirmed, but the spokesperson told Ma’an the “situation” would be “reviewed on a daily basis.”
(MAAN)
