Israel closes access to Palestinian town after reported stabbing of two Israelis

Two Israelis were injured in separate stab attacks in the Palestinian town of Hizma, north of Jerusalem, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

An Israeli man in his early forties was stabbed in the town late on Wednesday and a second Israeli in his late forties was stabbed in the neck early on Thursday in the same town. The Israeli army suspects that both attacks were carried out by Palestinians.

After a settler was stabbed, the occupation forces closed all entrances to the town of Hizma in Jerusalem, searched shops and unloaded camera recordings pic.twitter.com/DMvgoQD1Tn

— Hadeel Ibrahim (@hadeel_samar) March 3, 2022

The general director of Hizma municipality, Abdallah Salahadin, told The New Arab that Israeli forces had blocked both entrances to the town in the morning. “Israeli soldiers entered the town around 9:30 am and began to search houses,” he said.

“Israeli forces have blocked access to the town from all sides and taken over the town centre, but they have not arrested anybody yet,” he added.

According to Salahadin, “Hizma is frequently raided by Israeli forces, especially since an Israeli road passes right beside the crowded urban area of the town.”

He explained that “the Israeli separation wall, which expropriated 5 square kilometers of Hizma’s land, cuts across the road from the other side of the urban area, effectively trapping the town with a checkpoint on each side.”

Press coverage: "Heavy Israeli occupation forces in Hizma town, occupied #Jerusalem". pic.twitter.com/j84NgXY4EN

— AlQastal News (@QastalNewsEn) March 3, 2022

Salahadin stressed that “this situation has turned Hizma into a corridor for Israeli settlers, who pass everyday through the town centre on their way from and to Jerusalem, sometimes even stopping at our shops and buying what they need.”

The town of Hizma, which is located less than 7 kilometers from the centre of Jerusalem, was occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. It is home today to over 7,000 Palestinians and is completely isolated from Jerusalem by the Israeli separation wall.