Two soldiers were injured in a terror attack near the Tzrfin military base in central Israel on Tuesday morning.
The two injured were in a serious and good condition, respectively, and were taken to a hospital for treatment, the Magen David Adom emergency service said in a statement.
Both injured were said to be in their 20s.
Police said the suspected attacker was arrested and taken in for questioning.
In a statement they said an extensive search was under way for any other suspects.
A police spokesman told public broadcaster Kan that the attacker was “neutralized” by civilians at the scene.
An unverified video circulating on social media appeared to show a man being held on the ground by an officer.
מעצר מחבל בצומת צריפין בפיגע הדקירה בידים שההיהיה שני פזעע, זאדון ש שים כבני 20 נפצע ח קשד כל לב לב לב pic.twitter.com/1w2ijmo977
— Or Heller אור הלר (@OrHeller) April 4, 2023
The attack came amid spiking tensions and hours after the IDF said shooting had targeted a town in northern Israel, with an offshoot of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group claiming responsibility for the attack. There were no casualties and Israeli troops were scanning the area around Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa, where several houses were damaged by bullets, the army said.
Footage from a shooting attack targeting Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa on April 3, 2023. (Screenshot/Twitter)
On Saturday, a Palestinian attacker killed three Israeli soldiers south of Bethlehem on Saturday night in a ramming attack, the military said. The driver accelerated towards the soldiers and hit them near the village of Beit Ummar in the West Bank, as they were operating to secure roads in the area from rock throwers and other attacks. Other soldiers shot the attacker dead.
Tensions have risen sharply in the region over the past year as Israeli forces have carried out arrest raids and other counter-terrorism efforts in the West Bank following a series of terrorist attacks.
Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank in recent months have left 15 Israelis dead and many more injured.
At least 86 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them in attacks or during clashes with security forces, although some were unrelated civilians and others were killed under circumstances that are being investigated.
Settler violence against Palestinians has also increased in recent months.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week and will end on April 21, often sees heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions, with frictions already high this year in Jerusalem and across the West Bank after months of deadly violence.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
