During a knife attack, a soldier on the scene opened fired on the Palestinian terrorist, striking him, and inadvertently killing a 30yr-old Israeli male.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, YAAKOV LAPPIN

An Israeli died of his wounds sustained from unintentional gunfire on Wednesday afternoon following an attempted  terrorist stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank.

Scene of stabbing attack at Gush Etzion Junction – Photo source: Ynet

A Palestinian  terrorist approached the hitchhiking post at Etzion Junction where he produced a knife and attempted to stab an Israeli. A soldier on the scene fired at the terrorist striking him and mistakenly hitting a 30-year-old Israeli.

The Israeli was evacuated from the scene in critical condition to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem where he later died of his wounds.

The terrorist was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in moderate condition.

In response to the attack, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) has demanded that Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud)  suspend all Palestinian traffic to the Etzion Junction.

“It can’t be that Israeli citizens are murdered over and over again in the same spot and there is no proper security response,” said Ariel.

“I am in favor of easing restrictions on Palestinians but it is the basic obligation of the government to protect Israeli citizens and therefor we should stop Palestinian traffic on the roads leading to the intersection today,” he said.

“This is not a matter of punishment but instead a prevention of the murder of Jews,”  added Ariel.

Eliyav Gelman. 30-year-old father of two killed during stabbing attack in Gush Etzion on Wednesday. – Courtesy of family

Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings have killed 28 Israelis and a US citizen since October.

The bloodshed has been fueled by various factors, including a dispute over Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound and the failure of several rounds of peace talks to secure the Palestinians an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory.

Reuters contributed to this report.

View original The Jerusalem Post publication at:
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Terrorist-stabbing-attack-at-Gush-Etzion-Junction-one-injured-445937