17-Aug-15: Three knifing attacks on Israelis in past 48 hours

The man in the stretcher, being taken to an Israeli hospital
by an Israeli ambulance crew, is the Arab attacker who
asked for a glass of water and then stabbed the IDF serviceman
as he turned his back to go get it for him [Image Source]

There have been three serious knifing attacks on Israelis in the past two days.

This past Saturday, an Arab approached one of the soldiers manning, or patrolling close to. a busy checkpoint on Route 443, the highway connecting Jerusalem via Modi'in with the Coastal Plain. (Route 443 has been in the news several times this month because of Arab-on-Israeli violence.) Pretending to need the soldier's assistance in getting a drink of water, the attacker, according to AP, pounced on the soldier as he turned his back to go take care of helping the thirsty traveler, and stabbed him, causing light injuries. The soldier managed to draw his gun and shoot the knifer, wounding him in the shoulder. The attacker was taken away for interrogation. He is reported to have said that the knife attack came in the wake of an argument he had had with his own father.

A second knifing attack happened later that day, Saturday. Associated Press says a Palestinian Arab, Rafeq Ahmad al-Taj, 21, of Nablus walked up to Israeli police officers conducting a routine security check and stabbed one in the back with a knife, moderately wounding him. Another officer, standing nearby, opened fire and killed the attacker.

The third happened early this afternoon, Monday, at Tapuah Junction, scene of many previous terror attacks on Israelis both in uniform and not. The attacker, according to an Israel National News report, approached several Border Patrol officers and attempted to stab one of them with a large knife. He was was shot and died of his injuries soon after.

The ordinariness of these casual-seeming acts of attempted murder by ordinary-seeming attackers is chilling.