An IDF soldier in Gush Etzion. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90) (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)
IDF Gush Etzion

Israeli forces prevented an attack in Jerusalem when they arrested two 12-year-old Palestinians who intended to commit a stabbing attack and, in a separate incident, IDF soldiers killed an ax-wielding terrorist in Gush Etzion.

Israeli forces on Thursday shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist near the Palestinian town of El Aroub in the Gush Etzion area, which is situated on Route 60, a major road that runs through Judea and Samaria.

The IDF soldiers were securing the area when the terrorist attacked them with an ax.

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded in the attack after his helmet was hit with the ax.

Sources report that the terrorist was Ibrahim Baradiah, 54 and unmarried.

Earlier in the day, police arrested two Palestinians on their way to commit a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The would-be terrorists, aged 12, aroused the suspicion of the patrolmen who stopped the two. They were found to be carrying two knives and a meat cleaver. One of the youths was also carrying a note to his parents.

A police statement said the two admitted they intended to attack Jews. “The forces’ alertness, their professionalism and assertiveness prevented the harming of innocents,” the police said.

Israeli security forces are bolstering their presence at potential flashpoints ahead of the holiday season, as Israel fears that Palestinian terrorists will renew their wave of attacks after a few weeks of relative quiet.

The upcoming holiday season includes Passover and Israel’s national holidays, including its Independence Day. It also coincides with the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Israel’s heightened level of alertness comes as the Palestinians issued threats against Israelis visiting the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Passover holiday.

These incidents were the latest in a long series of near-daily Palestinian terror attacks, which have plagued Israelis over the course of around seven months, claiming the lives of 33 victims and wounding some 400.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

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