Rioters burn tires during clashes with IDF ne
Rioters burn tires during clashes with IDF neFlash 90

A technician for the Bezeq telecommunications company reported to police on Wednesday that he escaped a group of terrorists armed with knives in Samaria.

The technician was on his way to Ma'ale Shomron, located to the west of Shechem (Nablus), to fix a technical problem when his car was blocked by an Arab motorist.

Several masked Arab terrorists then emerged from the vehicle armed with knives and rapidly approached the technician's car. He managed to drive his car clear of the oncoming terrorists and escape.

The assailants reportedly escaped to the nearby Arab village of Biddya; police and IDF forces are searching the area for the suspects. The technician is currently being questioned to establish additional details about the incident.

The attack comes amid a general increase in terror attacks, against the backdrop of the serious escalation in rocket fire from Gaza and ongoing tension surrounding the kidnapping and murder of three Jewish and one Arab teenager in the past two months.

On Monday Arab terrorists opened fire on the southeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Nof Tzion, and two Arab teens reportedly tried to abduct a 15-year-old girl on Tuesday near the village of Abu Gosh, located just west of Jerusalem.

Shechem, located just east of the reported stabbing attempt, has been the scene of massive violent Arab riots, which have erupted throughout Israel since last Wednesday, when 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder of Jerusalem was found burned to death. His death appears to have been an act of "revenge" for the three Israeli teens murdered by Hamas terrorists on June 12.

Three of the six suspects confessed under interrogation to committing the murder on Monday.

Shechem was also the focus of an IDF crackdown on Hamas in Judea and Samaria, part of Operation Brother's Keeper following the kidnap and murder of Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha'ar and Naftali Frenkel on June 12.

Smaller-scale riots have also erupted in Judea and Samaria, particularly in the Ramallah area, in response to the IDF's operation to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza.

On Tuesday night hundreds of Islamists gathered on the Temple Mount to celebrate Hamas rocket strikes on Jerusalem.