Itongadol.- An 18-year-old Israeli soldier was stabbed to death Wednesday morning in an apparent terrorist attack.
Medical sources said the soldier was critically wounded when he was stabbed several times by a fellow passenger, a Palestinian youth from Jenin, who was in Israel illegally. The soldier, who was on his way to his army base when the attack occurred, was taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
The incident occurred on a bus in the northern Israeli city of Afula. The bus was making its way from Nazareth to Tel Aviv.
According to initial reports, witnesses managed to restrain the assailant, who was then arrested and taken into custody. He will be transferred for hospitalization due to bruises he sustained.
Israel\’s northern police commander, Ronny Attia, said in remarks broadcast on Army Radio that the Palestinian carried out the attack because his uncles were in prison in Israel.
Security services are attempting to ascertain how the stabber made his way into Israeli territory; the West Bank separation barrier is considered to be fully sealed in the area of Jenin. Security sources said the stabber\’s brothers are known to be connected to terror activities, but did not elaborate.
Two paramedics who were among the first to respond, Hadar Bachar and Nati Liani, discribed the scene. "We arrived at the site very quickly and were led into an intercity bus that had stopped to let down passengers at Afula\’s central bus station. A man aged about 18 was seated in one of the seats near the back of the bus – he was conscious, and had been stabbed several times all over his body. He was in a very bad state. After a short preliminary treatment, we quickly transferred him to the emergency ward at Haemek Hospital, where he was transferred to an operating room."
Police have closed down the area surrounding the bus station and security forces are sweeping the area. Following the incident, Atia decided to increase police presence at transportation hubs and crowded sites countrywide.