Sunday: Israeli army kills two Palestinians after attack in Huwwara

(Photo: Ma'an News)

Updated. Two Palestinians were shot dead after stabbing an Israeli soldier in the village of Huwwara south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, locals and Israel’s army said. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that two Palestinians stabbed and wounded a soldier before Israeli forces on site opened fire, resulting in the death of both attackers.

The spokesperson said that initial reports suggested that an additional soldier was injured as a result of fire directed towards the attackers.

One Israeli soldier received stab wounds to the face, while the other was injured by a gunshot wound to the leg, according to Israeli media. Both soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

Locals identified the Palestinians as Muhammad Rafiq Hussien Sabana,17, and Noor al-Deen Muhammad Abdul-Qadir Sabana, 23.

Earlier Sunday morning Israeli police detained a Palestinian suspected of stabbing and injuring an Israeli soldier near the central bus station in Jerusalem, Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a statement that a Palestinian man in his 30’s stabbed an Israeli soldier, 21, on Yirmiyahu Street behind the central bus station.The man -- identified as Saed Muhammad Qumbuz from al-Eizariya -- was held by a security guard on site until he was detained by police who arrived to the scene shortly after.
Israel emergency service Magen David Adom said that medics treated the soldier on site, who was in moderate condition and transferred to the Ein Karem branch of Hadassah hospital.The suspected stabbing attack in Jerusalem took place blocks from where a Palestinian was shot dead Saturday after police say he attempted to stab an officer in Allenby Square, around a mile west of the Old City.The family of the man, 26-year-old Musab al-Ghazali, later told Ma'an that he suffered from mental disabilities, denying that he would have carried out an attack.
 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Sunday that despite the arson-murder of a Palestinian family and recent reports of growing Jewish extremism, there was no room for comparison between Jewish acts of terrorism and Arab acts of terror.
"There is a difference between Israeli society's healthy attitude, which condemns terror and works against it, and the Palestinian Authority's, which encourages terror and incites," Netanyahu said. "I suggest we remember these distinctions at a time when we are fighting terror and inciters, wherever they may be."
Netanyahu said this while the number pf Palestinians killed since 1 October amounts to 143 and the numbre of Israelis who died in the zame periode stands at a little above 20.