Jerusalem: A wave of stabbing attacks by Palestinians on Thursday left six Israelis wounded, including a woman soldier and a student, even as security forces shot dead an assailant who used a screwdriver for the assault.
In the latest attack in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, one person was seriously injured and evacuated to a hospital in Jerusalem, according to relief agency Magen David Adom (MDA).
This comes hours after a Palestinian man stabbed a woman Israeli soldier and three others with a screwdriver in Tel Aviv, and was shot dead by security forces. Earlier today, a student was critically injured in a separate incident in Jerusalem.
The woman, a member of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), was assaulted near the Defence Ministry on Begin Avenue, police said.
The assailant was shot dead by security forces after attacking passers-by with a screwdriver opposite the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, reports said.
Paramedics said that four persons, including the soldier, suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Police cordoned off Begin junction, one of the busiest junctions in the city, fearing a second attacker might be on the loose.
Hours earlier, a Palestinian teenager stabbed a 25-year- old Israeli student before being arrested. The student was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
The attacks came as calls for Israeli public with license guns to carry it with them on a daily basis to prevent terror attacks gained momentum.
Under pressure from within the government and the opposition over the handling of escalating violence, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an emergency joint press conference with Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, and interim Police Chief Bentzi Sau.
Leader of the Opposition Isaac Herzog said the West Bank should be sealed until the wave of violence that Israel is currently facing subsides.
"We are facing a large and dangerous wave of terror and we will know how to overcome it," Herzog wrote on Twitter.
Israel's Deputy Defence Minister, Eli Ben Dahan, called on the Attorney General to authorise the army to demolish terrorists' houses immediately after they attack and not to wait a year for the judicial process to be completed.
Ben Dahan also called for civilians to legally carry firearms and to "be alert and prevent another terrorist attack", hours after a similar call was made by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.
