Update: IDF Soldier Stabbed in Kiryat Arba/Hebron Attack

A 19-year-old Israeli soldier was stabbed in the throat by an Arab terrorist at around 9:36 am Monday morning at the Beit Einun junction to Kiryat Arba, near northern Hebron.

The soldier remained conscious throughout his ordeal. IDF soldiers shot and killed the attacker.

זירת הפיגוע בבית ענון הפצוע הישראלי כבן 19 מפונה במצב קשה דקור בצוואר לבית החולים שערי צדק pic.twitter.com/Gp1cb6WwZS

— אלי שלזינגר (@leizersh) October 26, 2015

“The assailant stabbed the Israeli in the neck, wounding him severely,” the IDF said. “The attacker was shot on site, resulting in his death.”

The victim was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and is listed in serious condition.

IDF soldiers are stationed all along Highway 60, the main artery that runs from Be’er Sheva in the south, through Judea, past Kiryat Arba and Hebron and further north past Jerusalem into Samaria, up to Beit El and Ramallah.

זירת הפיגוע בבית ענון הפצוע הישראלי כבן 19 מפונה במצב קשה דקור בצוואר לבית החולים שערי צדק pic.twitter.com/Gp1cb6WwZS

— אלי שלזינגר (@leizersh) October 26, 2015

Arab stone-throwing terror attacks, stabbings and shootings have taken place off and on along the route for years, depending on the political climate and the local IDF coverage.

Recently the Defense Ministry added several more military units to the region in order to increase protection for Jews living, working and traveling in Judea and Samaria.

Highway 60 also reaches the access road that leads to the famed Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the burial site of the Biblical forefathers and mothers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah, as well as the head of Esau. In addition, according to Jewish tradition, the Cave is also the resting place of the very first man and woman, Adam and Eve.