Terror attack: Man sustains serious wounds, girl lightly hurt after terrorist stabs the two at Gush Etzion junction Tuesday afternoon; soldiers at scene shoot assailant, wounded taken to Jerusalem hospital

A 25-year-old man sustained serious wounds and a 17-year-old girl was lightly injured in a stabbing attack Tuesday afternoon at the Gush Etzion junction.

The man was stabbed in the stomach and was taken to hospital for treatment. His condition improved at the hospital and doctors later characterized his wounds as moderate.

The terrorist, a 28-year-old Hebron resident, managed to stab the two victims before being shot by soldiers at the scene. Immediately after the attack, police, army, and rescue forces were dispatched to the area.

The assailant, who sustained serious wounds after soldiers fired at him and was taken to a hospital in Israel, arrived at the hitch-hiking post at the junction around 6 p.m. and proceeded to stab the victims.

At the same time, a police officer on leave, Meir Organzi, happened to arrive at the area with his vehicle and spotted the terrorist stabbing his victims. The policeman disembarked from his car and cocked his weapon, leading the attacker to flee the scene. Meanwhile, the officer called out to soldiers in the area and informed them a terrorist was on the loose.

Disaster averted

Organzi, a Kiryat Arba resident who serves in the Hebron district police, told Ynet: "In my estimate, a major disaster was averted this afternoon at the Gush Katif Junction."

"When I was parallel to the hitch-hiking post in the direction of Kiryat Arba I suddenly saw someone running across the road. In retrospect, I realized it was the terrorist," Organzi said. "Then I saw a knife in his right hand. He pulled it out and stabbed a civilian standing at the hitch-hiking post in the stomach. He just stuck the knife in the stomach. When I saw the knife, I stopped the vehicle and got out with my personal weapon.

Organzi added: "There were three more girls at the scene and they ran in all directions. When he noticed me, he started running…I yelled

at him in Arabic: 'Stop, police.' He didn't stop and was holding the knife in his hand. I fired two shots, one of them hit him, but he continued to run towards the soldiers at the roadblock."

"I yelled out to the soldiers: 'I'm a police officer and I'm chasing a terrorist.' When he got close to the troops, they shot him and he was neutralized," Organzi concluded.

Girl carrying knife nabbed at roadblock

Ambulance teams treated the wounded at the scene before evacuating them to Jerusalem hospitals.

Magen David Adom ambulance service paramedic Dror Eini told Ynet: "I arrived at the Gush Etzion junction and saw two civilians, a 17-year-old girl still standing and stabbed in her buttocks, and a civilian lying on the sidewalk in serious condition."

Elsewhere, a 14-year-old Palestinian resident of Bethlehem was detained at a roadblock south of Jerusalem earlier Tuesday in possession of a knife. In her interrogation, the girl said she planned to stab security forces at the checkpoint.

The suspect was later transferred to the Jerusalem District Police for further questioning.

Since the beginning of the year, security forces at West Bank roadblocks nabbed 25 Palestinians in possession of knives.

Notably, about four months ago, three people were murdered in a terror attack at the Gush Etzion junction, after Palestinians fired at a hitch-hiking post. Three other people were hurt in that attack, including one who sustained serious wounds.

First Published: 02.28.06, 17:59

Latest Update: 02.28.06, 21:33