An attempted attack was thwarted Sunday morning near the community of Tekoa in eastern Gush Etzion after an Arab tried to attack a Jewish resident with an iron bar.
An initial investigation revealed that the terrorist attacked a resident at the Tekoa Forest parking lot with stones, shouting "Allahu Akbar," meaning "God is great" in Arabic.
At this stage the terrorist fled, crossed the fence of the community, grabbed a metal object and tried to attack a resident. The resident, who was armed, managed to subdue the terrorist with the help of two other residents who were in the area, as well as with the assistance of the community's security coordinator, who arrived to the scene within a short time.
The IDF said, "A short while ago, IDF soldiers arrested a Palestinian who tried to attack a resident with an iron bar near Tekoa. Nobody was injured."
The community's emergency squad is scanning the area, including near the schools and kindergartens where the school year began today, in order to ensure that there are no more casualties in the incident.
Until the searches are completed, security forces have instructed residents of Tekoa to stay in their homes.