Two Palestinians stabbed a 51-year-old Israeli man on Thursday while he and other Israelis attempted to extinguish a fire in an area near the community of Itamar in Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces said.
An Israeli civilian at the scene witnessed the terrorist attack and killed the two terrorists, the military continued.
The victim was evacuated by a helicopter from the Israeli Air Force’s Unit 669 heliborne combat search and rescue extraction unit for further treatment at a hospital. He sustained serious wounds, the Magen David Adom national emergency service said in a statement.
IDF soldiers launched searches in the area of Beit Furik and have imposed a temporary cordon on the area, the army noted.
Defense Minister Israel Katz reacted to the stabbing attack, identifying the victim by name.
“I wish a speedy recovery to Itamar Cohen, one of the founders of the agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria, who was wounded in a terrorist attack near Alon Moreh. I strengthen him and his family members and pray for his complete healing,” Katz tweeted.
He added that Palestinian terrorism has decreased by more than 80% thanks to the “aggressive policy” led by the government. But, he added, “we must not be mistaken—the Palestinian terrorism still exists, and we continue to act against it at all times and in all places.”
Katz said that just as Israel’s security forces dismantled the terrorist infrastructures in the terror camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, they will not hesitate to do the same in additional villages and camps.
“Terrorism will not deter us or achieve its goal. On the contrary—just as we established 104 new communities and legalized 160 farms—we will continue to strengthen the settlements ... as part of the State of Israel’s security strategy, and to continue developing Judea and Samaria while maintaining uncompromising security for its residents and for the security of all Israeli citizens,” the defense minister said.
Investigators from Israel Fire and Rescue Services, and the Israel Police, have begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the fire, according to the IDF.
Initial reports said that the victim was stabbed during an altercation with Palestinians at the Derech Avraham Farm, southeast of Nablus.
He and additional Israelis rushed to the scene to put out the fire that had spread over a large area.
“While we were providing security at the scene of a fire, civilians shouted to us that a man had been wounded in a stabbing,” medical technician Israel Arbus of the MDA service told Ynet.
“We immediately ran to the scene and found a man suffering from stab wounds to his body. We provided him with life-saving medical treatment, including stopping the bleeding, and, together with an IDF medical team, evacuated him to the hospital in serious condition.”
