Pregnant woman hurt in stabbing near Jerusalem
Michal Fruman, 30, moderately wounded in terror attack in Tekoa; her unborn baby was unharm; terrorist shot and critically wounded by armed civilian.
A pregnant woman was moderately wounded in a stabbing attack in Tekoa near Jerusalem on Monday morning.
The terrorist, around 17 years old, infiltrated Tekoa through an existing breach in its fence and arrived shortly after 10am to a second-hand clothes store in the Tekoa industrial area.
The manager of the store turned to the young attacker to ask him what he was looking for. In response, he drew out a knife and stabbed 30-year-old Michal Fruman, one of the employees, in her chest.
He then fled back towards the breach in the fence. Security forces ordered him to stop, but he ignored them, at which point he was shot and critically wounded by an armed civilian. He was taken to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Following the attack, the commander of the Etzion Brigade ordered the immediate removal of all Palestinians workers from settlements in the area, and IDF forces searched for any accessories.
"In light of situation assessments and following recent terror attacks ... Palestinian workers have been instructed to leave (Gush Etzion) communities," an IDF statement said.
Fruman, who is 18 weeks pregnant, was taken to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in moderate and stable condition. Her unborn baby was unharmed and there was no risk to her life.
Michal is the wife of Shibi Fruman, who worked as former education minister Shai Piron's aide in the Knesset. Shibi Fruman's father, Rabbi Menachem Fruman, was the rabbi of Tekoa.
Michal's husband, Shibi Fruman, said the knife had broken a bone and raptured her lung.
"She says she felt that the terrorist wanted to die more than he wanted to kill her, and the two things together express how serious the situation is," Shibi said.
"We seek peace and there's no reply, because we're facing a culture of death," he added.
Michal's mother-in-law, Hadassah Frum, said her son's wife was "very frightened," after the attack.
"Something in people's personal sense of security is broken. People want to turn this place into a sane place of coexistence, but they see the situation persists," she said. "From my extensive experience of the situation on the ground, it's very clear to me that until the terrorists' families are expelled from here to Gaza, this situation will continue."
Michal, Hadassah said, was a friend of Dafna Meir, who was murdered in Otniel on Sunday afternoon by a terrorist outside her home. "We spoke about the situation yesterday, about how to bring life into this reality," she said.
The stabber who killed Meir escaped, and a manhunt for him continued on Monday morning in the southern Mount Hebron area.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday morning that "the abhorrent terrorist who murdered Dafna Meir, who – along with her husband – raised six children, will be caught. I would like to send my condolences to Natan and the children, to the entire family. The entire Jewish People grieves with you."
Monday evening, following reports of stones being thrown at Jerusalem's light rail in Shuafat, in northern Jerusalem, searches were carried out by detectives. A detective spotted an Arab youth wielding a knife coming towards them. The detectives approached him and identified themselves as policemen. The suspect tried to escape but was caught and arrested. The knife was seized. No injuries were reported.
