Israeli police in Lod. Credit: Israel Police, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Israeli security forces foiled a major attack this week, as Palestinian terror groups sought to set up violence in solidarity with six escaped prisoners, Hebrew media reported on Monday.
The Shin Bet security service and police foiled a number of attacks, Channel 12 and 13 reported, without giving details on the major attack prevented.
Meanwhile, police were on high alert, fearing further violence over the Yom Kippur holiday, particularly in Jerusalem.
Channel 13 reported that some 2,000 police would be stationed in the city.
This week saw several stabbing attempts, with both Israel and Palestinian terror groups saying the violence was inspired by the prison escape.
“I don’t know if we are on the verge of an escalation”, Labor public security minister Omer Barlev said in an interview. “But we are definitely in a very sensitive period – the recent attacks, the escape of the terrorists from the prison, and the two who have not yet been caught, alongside our problems with Hamas”.
Monday saw a stabbing attack in Jerusalem, as a 17-year-old youth from near Hebron attacked two victims, who were hospitalised with moderate stab wounds to the upper body.
The attacker, who was hospitalised in serious condition after being shot by a border police officer, was named in media reports as Basil Shawamra, a resident of the West Bank town of Deir al-Asal al-Fauqa.