Israel blockades West Bank village after knife attack

The Israeli army locked down a village in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as it searched for a Palestinian suspected of stabbing a Jewish man from a nearby settlement.

The army said only "humanitarian cases" would be let in and out of Nahalin, southwest of Bethlehem and a short distance from the settlement of Neve Daniel. 

The man, in his 20s, was reportedly stabbed while jogging. He was said to be suffering "moderate" wounds to his upper body.

Nahalin is the second village in the occupied West Bank to be blockaded by Israeli forces in the last week.

Qatabiya, with a population of 25,000, was placed under lockdown last week after three teenagers from the village killed an Israeli police officer in Jerusalem. All three attackers were shot dead at the scene.

The blockade was lifted after a few days, but the families of the attackers were told their homes were to be demolished.

That followed a partial lockdown of Ramallah late in January, when Israeli forces said they were preventing attacks in Jerusalem.

The blockades suggest the revival of a tactic by the Israeli military, not used since the last Palestinian intifada, in its attempts to prevent further attacks.

Palestinians have told MEE the lockdowns are tantamount to the collective punishment of entire towns for the actions of a few Palestinians.

The stabbing attack near Nahalin was similar to Palestinian attacks over the past four months targeting Israeli security and civilians in the occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem and Israel.

The wave of violence that erupted in October has claimed the lives of 165 Palestinians, 26 Israelis, an American, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians were killed carrying out attacks, while others died during clashes and demonstrations.

Neve Daniel is part of the Etzion bloc of settlements, a focal point of the unrest.