IDF soldier killed at roadblock

An IDF soldier was stabbed to death by a Palestinian at the Kalandiya roadblock north of Jerusalem Thursday afternoon. The troop killed was identified as Nir Kahane, 20, from Kiryat Tivon.  

The assailant arrived at the roadblock around 3:45 p.m., pulled out a knife, and stabbed the soldier. A medical team dispatched to the area treated the victim at the scene.

Soldiers managed to capture the 29-year-old terrorist, later identified as Yousef Abu-Adi, at the roadblock, and he was taken in for interrogation by the Minority Department of the Jerusalem District Police. The stabber is a resident of the village of Nuema, near Ramallah.

Kalandiya checkpoint following fatal stabbing (Photo: Gil Yochanan) 

Central Command Head Yair Naveh ordered the army to close the roadblock immediately after the terror attack.

IDF officials said that "this is another example for the cynical use made by terror organizations in a place designated for easing restrictions on the Palestinian population."

Lia Nirgad of the Machsom (Checkpoint) Watch organization arrived at the area a number of minutes after the stabbing.

"At first they blocked the traffic from both ways. Now the roadblock is open for people going to Ramallah, but those who are trying to pass from Ramallah to southern neighborhoods cannot do so."

IDF gets 'green light'

"Large police and army forces have arrived at the roadblock. Many Palestinians have arrived and there is tremendous traffic of people returning from work. The traffic is blocked and the roadblock is closed," she said.

Immediately after Monday's Netanya bombing, the defense establishment decided to impose a full closure of the territories and to upgrade the security checks in the different roadblocks.

The IDF also got the “green light” to carry out targeted killings. The last assassination was executed a few minutes after the Kalandiya stabbing, when the Israel Air Force launched a missile strike at a group of wanted suspects in the Gaza strip town of Beit Lahiya.

Two men were killed in the strike, and another sustained critical injuries, according to Palestinian reports.

The IDF decided to begin exerting "continuous pressure on the terror organizations while focusing the efforts on intelligence and operational activities." The Security supervision along the security fence has also been upgraded.

The latest stabbing comes on the heels of a series of stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and across the West Bank. In one of the cases, a yeshiva student was murdered in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Repeated attacks at army roadblocks

Several stabbing cases also occurred at West Bank roadblocks, but in most cases troops were able to overcome the assailants before they were able to stab soldiers. In some of the incidents, soldiers sustained light to moderate wounds.

Last summer, three Border Guard policemen were seriously wounded following an explosion at a checkpoint in the Kalandiya area.

A 60-year-old Palestinian was killed in the explosion, and his wife, his son and another Palestinian were wounded. The explosion occurred when a vehicle arrived at the roadblock.

At first, security officials thought that a car bomb had caused the explosion, but shortly afterwards they discovered that a terrorist, who was in the vehicle, fled the scene when he saw the policemen, leaving his bag behind.

The bag contained a medium-sized explosive device, which was eventually detonated using a remote control.

On Monday, terror attacks in Israel were resumed with the deadly bombing in Netanya's Sharon Mall. A strong explosion was heard in the area at 11:30 a.m.

Five people were murdered and more than 50 people were injured in the bombing, four of them sustaining serious wounds. Magen David Adom teams evacuated the wounded people to hospitals in the area.

The suicide bomber, Lutfi Amin abu-Saada, an Islamic Jihad member from the West Bank village of Alar near TulKarm, approached the mall and blew himself up near the bridge and National Insurance office on Netanya's Herzl Street.