07-Dec-15: Monday afternoon stabbing attack in Hebron

We spent this afternoon in one of the Gush Etzion communities. As the sun was setting, the urgent sounds of ambulances heading south with sirens shrieking filled the air. That's often an indicator of another terror attack in the Gush area or Hebron. Now that we're back in Jerusalem we see there was a stabbing attack in the vicinity (again) of the ancient Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron - the Me'arat HaMachpelah in Hebrew - around 3:40 pm today (Monday):

A 40-year-old Israeli was critically wounded in a stabbing attack near the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Monday afternoon. The terrorist was reportedly shot and killed by border police troops. Zaki Yahav, an MDA paramedic told ynet, "When we arrived at the scene we saw a 40-year-old man lying on the floor, partially conscious with a number of stab wounds to his upper body. We immediately loaded him onto the ambulance in order to evacuate him to the hospital as soon as possible. We evacuated him while providing initial life saving care which included stopping the bleeding, and giving him fluids." [Ynet]

Times of Israel reports that the victim was a by-stander who was walking past the checkpoint at the time the terrorist pounced. Social media reports say the injured Israel lives in Kiryat Arba, and that he worked as a gardener. He underwent emergency treatment at Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and is now in critical condition. For Hebrew speakers, please include his name גנאדי חיים נוטה בן רעיה רחל in prayers for his complete recovery. We would transliterate that as Genady Haim Noteh ben Ra'aya Rachel.

The attacker, killed in the attempt, is also now featuring in certain parts of the social media, along with his photograph and name. Ma'an's headline is "Palestinian shot dead after stabbing Israeli in Hebron", but the article itself calls it an "alleged" attack, and names the knife-man as 21-year-old Ihab Fathi Miswadi [ايهاب فتحي مسودة] though this Arabic news-site says he's 18. Hamas is circulating (via Twitter and other channels) pictures of the killer posing in front of Islamic structures on the Temple Mount. The process of martyrizing him is bound to be well-underway at this hour, along with the inevitable cries to avenge his "victimhood".

UPDATE Wednesday December 30, 2015: Israel National News says the stabbing victim, Genady Kaufman, succumbed to his injuries today at Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He died after a three-week struggle with the knife injuries that damaged his heart, lungs and stomach.