A stabbing attack occurred several minutes before 8:00 a.m. outside a synagogue on the corner of Yehezkel and Habakuk HaNavi Streets in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem.
An 18-year-old haredi youth was lightly-to-moderately injured with multiple stab wounds to the upper body.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated the injured victim on the scene, before evacuating him to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. Several other people in the area are being treated for shock.
The two Arab terrorists who attacked the victim have been neutralized, and are on the scene wounded. Their conditions are unclear, but initial reports indicate the terrorists were both seriously wounded.
One of the two terrorists was brought to the trauma unit at Hadassah Ein Karem apparently already deceased, the hospital announced.
Police reported that the two terrorists had tried to board a bus on Yehezkel Street in Ramat Beit Shemesh, but were repulsed by citizens.
Beit Shemesh police arrived on the scene and witnessed the two terrorists stabbing a man near the bus station. They reacted quickly, firing on the terrorists and neutralizing them.
According to an eyewitness, after the bus driver shut the door on the terrorists, they moved in the direction of the synagogue.
“At that point, I saw a police car coming up the road, and I ran in its direction and signaled the police inside,” the eyewitness, Yinon, told Army Radio.
“The policeman hadn’t gotten out when the terrorists attacked the first man who came out of the synagogue. The police ran after after them and shot from a distance of 50 meters,” Yinon added, noting he called MDA while police neutralized the terrorists.
David Leff, head of United Hatzalah’s Beit Shemesh branch recounted: “when Hatzalah volunteers arrived on scene, they encountered a man who had been stabbed in the upper body near the bus station. He was fully conscious.”
“Security forces acted to neutralize the terrorists who at this time were lying on the ground,” he added. “Volunteers are now treating a number of people for anxiety as well as the stabbing victim. Large forces of Beit Shemesh police are operating in the area.”
Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul, said, “two (Arabs) tried to enter a synagogue and stab worshippers. Security forces identified and neutralized them.”
“It’s not easy, we’re in the eye of the storm,” the mayor added. “There is a very large construction site nearby and we will have to reassess the situation and how to proceed for the future.”
