20-Dec-17: The Tomb of the Patriarchs: Another would-be stabber is intercepted in time

Image Source: Haaretz

A Palestinian Arab armed with a knife was stopped today (Wednesday afternoon) around 4:00 pm at one of the security checkpoints that surround the ancient and sacred Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. He was promptly arrested.

The would-be stabber from the Arab town of Dahariya, 23 kilometers south of Hebron, aroused the suspicions of the Border Guard officers stationed at the checkpoint. They demanded he submit to a metal detector examination. It found a metal object hidden on his body.

The suspect then mysteriously declined a request by the officers to empty his pockets after the metal detector found what it found, and preferred instead to pull out and brandish the knife. The Border Guard men brought their powers of persuasion into play and convinced the Palestinian Arab man - by means of their quickly-raised weapons and well-focused words - to surrender before he was able to stab anyone.

The men with the guns could have killed him on the spot but chose instead to take him custody. No one was injured.

Under preliminary questioning, according to Israel National News, the gentleman under arrest agreed with his interrogators that he had come with his knife to "to carry out a terrorist attack against the officers".

UNESCO decided by a vote in July that the Tomb of the Patriarchs is a "Palestinian heritage site". Haaretz reported at the time that 12 states on its World Heritage Committee voted for the resolution and three voted against. The vote also recognized the site "as being in danger, meaning that each year UNESCO's World Heritage Committee will convene to discuss" its case.

It would be nice to think the UNESCO concern stemmed from the long line of stabbers and would-be stabbers who have targeted the ancient site for their murderous purposes. But our impression is they have not the slightest interest in Palestinian Arab violence and their influence on sites of cultural significance.