A 20-year-old IDF soldier was critically wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack at the entrance to Tel Aviv's Hahagana train station on Monday.

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics tried to resuscitate the victim at the site before sending him to Ichilov Hospital where he was brought to the surgery room.

The victim was reportedly stabbed numerous times, including in the upper body and waist, as he tried to fight off his attacker. The attacker proceeded to try and escape from the scene towards Levanda Street as he was pursued by security forces and citizens.

The terrorist has been identified by Channel 2 as Nur al-Din Abu Hashiya, an 18-year-old from Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria who had illegally entered into sovereign Israeli territory. Police spokesperson Luba Samri said "it was apparently an attack with nationalist motives. The suspect is a resident of the Nablus."

Hashiya tried to snatch a weapon from his victim, but was prevented from doing so by citizens in the area at which he decided to flee.

He was arrested and brought in for questioning, and during the process an officer in his 50s was reportedly lightly wounded and was given treatment at the scene; traffic in the area has been blocked off due to the attack.

According to reports the terrorist was captured after trying to take refuge in a four-story apartment building, with forces locating him thanks to the help of citizens on the top floor of the building.

A witness to the attack named Kobi told public radio "I got to Hahagana bridge with a friend and we saw a big man in a red sweatshirt stabbing a soldier twice, apparently someone from the air force. I stopped the car and we started to run after him, shouting 'terrorist, terrorist.'"

Kobi said he returned to help the soldier who was clearly in serious condition, saying "he was conscious but his situation deteriorated very quickly," reports AFP.

The latest attack follows a day of escalated Arab violence Sunday, with numerous rock, firebomb and mob attacks in the north of the country as well as in the Jerusalem area that has experienced the worst of a wave of terror in recent months.

In the backdrop of the recent spate of terrorism is an incident on Saturday night, in which an Arab man tried to stab police officers with a knife before being shot in the Galilee village of Kafr Kanna.

That incident sparked riots in the Galilee region which have continued sporadically into Monday. On Sunday, a Jewish man narrowly escaped with his life from an Arab lynch mob who torched his car.