Photo by
Hillel Maeir/TPS on 5 February, 2018
Breaking News: Man Killed In Ariel Stabbing Attack
By
TPS
• 5 February, 2018
Jerusalem, 5 February, 2018 (TPS) -- 14:28 A man was stabbed in the chest in Ariel.
14:30 The assailant is reported to have been neutralized
14:33 Magen David Adom paramedics said the victim was suffering from stab wounds to the upper torso and is in serious condition.
14:45 The victim was evacuated to hospital reportedly in critical condition
14:52 Magen David Adom paramedic Yaakov Feder said when he arrived at the scene a 30 year old man was unconscious after suffering multiple stab wounds to the upper torso.
14:55 Initial reports suggest the assailant was shot, but managed to flee the scene in the direction of the nearby Palestinian village of Kifl Haris. Security forces are conducting a search.
15:10 According to initial details gathered by a TPS reporter at the scene, the victim was waiting at a hitchhiking station in the direction of the Tapuach Junction when he was stabbed. He ran in the direction of Ariel and stopped a bus before collapsing. At the same time the terrorist fled in the direction of Kifl Harris. A soldier passing by the scene hit the terrorist with his car and injured him. The terrorist threw the knife by the side of the road and continued his escape toward the nearby Palestinian village.
15:15 An IDF spokesperson confirmed that the civilian had been stabbed while waiting at the hitchhiking station and that ad IDF officer had managed to hit the assailant with his car. The spokesman said IDF forces were combing the area in a search for the assailant.
15:18 Oren Hazan, a Likud MK who lives in Ariel, said the Israeli government was to blame for the attack. “There is one reason for this attack: The Israeli government which continues to funnel money to the Palestinian Authority which supports terror, and to the terrorists in [Israeli] prisons,” Hazan said. “I call upon the government and the prime minister to stop the funds being transferred to the PA. We should lean from the Americans and act as they do. We cannot continue in this reality where we are funding these attacks.”
15:20 The victim is reportedly a resident of Har Brakha – a settlement near Nablus.
15:24 The victim has succumbed to his wounds and has passed away.
17:00 The victim was named as Itamar Ben-Gal, a 29-year-old father of four from Har Bracha near Nablus
17:02 Hamas praises the successful guerrilla action and wishes security and safety to the perpetrators and all the rebels and resistors in the West Bank.
17:05 Footage from security cameras at the site show the assailant descending from a share-taxi with Palestinian license plates, crossing the road to the hitchiking station, walking up to the victim and stabbing him in the chest. The victim runs away with the assaialnt chasing after him as both exit the frame.
