The security guard was stabbed and seriously wounded by an Arab terrorist Wednesday evening at the Kalandia Checkpoint north of Jerusalem. Two Arab men walked toward the checkpoint and, when the guard approached them, one suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the stomach and neck. The terrorist fled the scene.
The guard was hired by the Defense Ministry as part of the hand-over of control of many aspects of the newly-built checkpoints along the pre-1967 border to private companies.
The guard was in critical condition at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital, but his wife told Army Radio Thursday morning that his condition had improved. “He has regained consciousness and we spoke,” she said. “He told me not to be afraid, and that he loves me.”
Attack Thwarted
IDF intelligence received word of a specific plan to dispatch a large explosive device to a population center on the coastal plain Wednesday. As a result, IDF special forces were deployed around Palestinian Authority-assigned Shechem and security checks were bolstered in the region.
IDF paratroopers spotted a suspicious vehicle near the Ein Bidan Checkpoint east of Shechem and found an 8-kilogram bomb in the trunk. It was detonated in a controlled explosion by IDF sappers.
The four men in the car were members of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement.
The Ein Bidan checkpoint was just reopened in recent weeks after an eight-month closure following a bomb-attack near the Jewish town of Kedumim. Its opening was carried out as part of the frequent “easing of restrictions” ordered by the political echelon.
Another Fatah man was shot and killed earlier Wednesday while trying to infiltrate into Israel through the Gaza fence.
Jewish Child Wounded by Rocks
A three-year-old boy suffered wounds to his face on Wednesday after Arabs stoned the car in which he was riding near Tekoa, in eastern Gush Etzion.
More Rockets on Western Negev
Two more Kassam missiles were fired at communities in the western Negev from Gaza Thursday. One landed in an open ,area and the other struck a kibbutz, damaging a building, but failing to cause injury or death.
Some 25 rockets have been fired since Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Gaza’s terror groups.
IDF Shoots Stone-Thrower Dead
IDF soldiers shot dead a 29-year-old man who was part of a crowd hurling bricks and rocks at soldiers during an IDF operation in a village near Ramallah Thursday.
Terror Suspected in Murder of Katzrin Schoolgirl
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told the Knesset Wednesday that police are now investigating the possibility that 13-year-old Ta'ir Rada was murdered by an Arab. The girl was found dead in the Nofei Golan High School.
Until now, the investigation of last week's murder - the first ever in the Golan Heights "capital" of Katzrin - has been treated as a criminal one.
Intelligence Official: Syria Preparing For War
Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz said Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is preparing for a war against Israel.
Baidatz, who heads the research division of IDF intelligence says Al-Assad has increased production of long-range missiles and moved anti-tank positions closer to Israel’s borders.
IDF officials say that Israel is taking the threats very seriously and is preparing for a large war that could occur this summer. Reserve units that have had their funding and training-time slashed in recent years are now training with live ammunition and engaging in costly exercises on a regular basis.