03-Nov-15: Adequately-equipped knifer intercepted en route

The security crossing [Image Source]

The Jalameh/Gilboa security crossing is in the news this morning for the third time in a few days [yesterday, and Sunday]. Israel National News reports today that a Palestinian Arab male -

was arrested on Tuesday morning at the Gilboa Crossing in Samaria, located near Jenin. The terrorist had a pipe bomb and a knife on his possession and was clearly on his way to conduct a terror attack, likely in the urban coastal region where the crossing leads to and where two attacks took place on Monday. Security forces stationed at the crossing identified the terrorist as he approached the checkpoint in a suspicious manner and proceeded to arrest him, firing in the air to get him to stop and submit. Upon investigation, he was found to be carrying a knife and pipe bomb...

The Jerusalem Post says the suspect

was arrested on the Palestinian side of the crossing, and confessed to soldiers that he was planning an attack, an army spokeswoman said. Security forces took the suspect in for questioning. There were no injuries in the incident.

Pre-emptive security measures like the one that stopped this morning's attacker get far too little credit for the life-saving results they quietly achieve. This isn't a free-speech or equal-opportunity matter but a recognition that we are surrounded by people who individually and as a society have a deep and poorly understood commitment to causing us the greatest possible harm. And with no red lines.

[Highly recommended background reading: "What Do Palestinians Want? It’s time to take a close look at an often ignored subject: what ordinary Palestinians think about Israel, Jews, and terrorist attacks on civilians" | Daniel Polisar, Mosaic Magazine, November 2, 2015]

02-Nov-15: The violence continues

The scene of the Jaffa Gate assault today [Image Source]

Earlier today, we mentioned an attack at the Jalameh/Gilboa Crossing, north of Jenin in the Shomron district. There has been another today at the same location. Israel National News says two Palestinian Arabs attempted a stabbing attack there earlier today. It adds that both were shot dead before they could achieve their mission. A Times of Israel report says one was arrested, the other killed:

The attack occurred at the Gilboa/Jalame crossing on Route 60 between Israel proper and the West Bank, north of the town of Jenin. According to the IDF, soldiers approached the two suspects at a gas station next to the crossing. “One of the suspects then attempted to stab a soldier with a knife and was shot by the force.The second suspect was apprehended,” a statement from the military said. The army said the attacker who was shot received medical care at the site... There were no injuries among Israeli soldiers...

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, yet another reminder of the wanton ordinariness of the violence on the minds of an untold number of our neighbours.

An Israeli woman in her forties, guiding a group of visitors in the vicinity of the Old City's Jaffa Gate, was assaulted this morning by a Palestinian Arab attacker. Like several other perpetrators of acts of terror in and around the capital, this one was a resident of the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood. He fled on foot after smashing her over the head with a bottle, and police and Border Guard personnel gave chase, catching up with him at Kikar Zahal (IDF Square, next to Jerusalem's City Hall). The assailant is 22 years old. His victim suffered light injuries and was taken by Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance for emergency treatment of head injuries at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

Here's an extract from a security video clip that captured yet another resistance hero defending (excuse the deep cynicism) the "Al Aqsa mosque compound":

The day is not over.

19-Oct-14: Human bomb intercepted by IDF near Jenin? [UPDATE: He was not armed]

A news flash from the Jerusalem Post, the substance of which is unconfirmed as we write this (Sunday, 12:20 pm):

Defense Ministry personnel arrested a suspicious Palestinian at the Jalameh crossing near Jenin in the West Bank on Sunday. Police sappers were on the scene checking if a device that the suspect was wearing on his person is an explosive device.

Times of Israel has more:

Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian man Sunday near the northern West Bank city of Jenin on suspicion that he was planning to carry out a suicide bombing attack in an Israeli city across the Green Line. The man was apprehended at a checkpoint next to the Palestinian town of Jalameh on the northern border of the West Bank, after security forces noticed what appeared to be an explosive vest strapped to his torso, Israel Radio reported. Sappers were attempting to dismantle the device while police interrogated the man at a facility adjacent to the checkpoint, according to the report. The checkpoint was closed to traffic and security personnel were searching the area for additional explosives.

And here's an update as of 2:30 pm Israel time, Sunday:

The Jalama crossing north of Jenin was closed after a Palestinian wearing a suspected explosive device arrived at the area. Investigators from the Ministry of Defense, responsible for the crossing, examined the suspect, while police dealt with the device. However, it was eventually revealed that the man was in fact unarmed. [Israel National News]

Sidenote: While this may read like a strange narrative for those unfamiliar with daily life here and the phenomenon of "hefetz hashud" (Hebrew for suspicious object) - and the turmoil that follows - this kind of thing happens often. Most people here realize being constantly alert implies being wrong some or even much of the time, which works out far better than failing to identify those not-quite-sure-about-them dangers. But beware of media sources that report suspicions as certainties.