HEVRON - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers prevented two stabbing attacks on Thursday, one at a checkpoint near Ramallah and the other at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron.

The first attempt took place at the Birzeit checkpoint near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority (PA) government.

Soldiers at the checkpoint arrested an Arab woman who approached them with an unsheathed knife in her hand. She was taken in for questioning.

The second incident at Hevron's Cave of the Patriarchs also involved an Arab woman with a knife. When soldiers asked her about the knife during a security check, she tried to stab them.

A young girl with her also had a knife. Both were taken in for questioning.

On Wednesday, border police confiscated a knife from an Arab man at the Cave of the Patriarchs. He was also detained for questioning.

With a higher incidence of stabbing attempts over the past year, IDF soldiers and border guards are cautious with people carrying knives, even small ones.

Source: YNet news