Description

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday detained a Palestinian close by the Beit Einun junction near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on suspicion he was planning a stab attack.

Locals told Ma’an that 19-year-old Jafar Mahmoud Hammad Jabarin from the Hebron-district village of Sair was detained after Israeli soldiers said they found a knife hidden in one of his shoes.

An Israeli army spokesperson did not have immediate information on Jabarin’s detention but told Ma’an they were looking into the incident.

The Beit Einun junction -- site to a settler bypass road that leads to the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba -- has seen a number of deadly accounts in recent months.

At least four Palestinian residents of Sair have been shot dead at the junction this month following alleged attempts to stab Israeli soldiers stationed at the junction. No Israelis were injured in any of the incidents.

Residents of Sair say that the intensive presence of Israeli soldiers on the outer edges of the village, which they describe as a "military siege," is largely to blame for the high death toll.