Judea and Samaria Border Police soldiers on Sunday arrested a 37-year-old woman near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in the West Bank, who was carrying a knife. During an investigation, she confessed to having planned to carry out an attack against a security official.
The soldiers were deployed there to secure the Cave of the Patriarchs, and conducted a routine security check when the suspect arrived with her two children. During the security check, the suspect was asked by one of the soldiers to open her purse for inspection and she refused to cooperate while trying to interfere with due process. During the search, a female soldier noticed a knife tucked inside her shirt.
The suspect was arrested along with one of her sons, and the other son was detained. At the time of their arrest, she said to the soldiers that she is married to a Hamas operative who is serving a prison sentence in Israel and that her goal was to carry out a stabbing attack against a security official in the Cave of the Patriarchs." She was later transferred to the Jerusalem Police for further questioning.
The West Bank has seen an increase in attempted terror attacks during the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.