Israeli-American Fatally Stabbed in the West Bank Attack by a Palestinian teen comes amid rising tensions in the region By Felicia Schwartz
https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-american-fatally-stabbed-in-the-west-bank-1537114584?cx_testId=16&cx_testVariant=cx&cx_artPos=0&cx_tag=contextual&cx_navSource=newsReel#cxrecs_s
TEL AVIV—A Palestinian teenager on Sunday fatally stabbed a 45-year-old Israeli-American man in the West Bank, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.
The man, Ari Fuld, was a right-wing pro-Israel activist who had a following on social media. He was killed at a shopping mall near the Gush Etzion junction that has been the site of similar incidents in recent years. The junction and mall are frequented by both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Israeli military described the stabbing—the second such incident this summer—as an act of terror. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, and there were no signs that it was related to Mr. Fuld’s pro-Israel postings.
The attack comes amid heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been demonstrating at the border with Israel to call for the right to return each week, in protests that have often turned violent. Israeli forces have responded with live fire and have killed more than 150 Palestinians since March.
Mr. Fuld lived with his family in Efrat, a settlement in the West Bank, and was married with four children. He was also a reserve member of the Israeli military.
Videos of the scene circulated on social media show that Mr. Fuld chased and shot at his attacker before collapsing.
An Israeli police spokesman identified the attacker as Khalil Jabarin, 17, from Yatta, a Palestinian city south of Hebron. He was injured and evacuated to a hospital in Jerusalem.
According to Israel’s foreign ministry, more than 60 people have been killed in attacks by Palestinians since September 2015, including stabbings, shootings and car rammings. That count includes two visiting Americans and a British student. In July, a 31-year-old Israeli man was stabbed and killed in his home by a Palestinian attacker.
Hosam Badran, a leader of Gaza ruler Hamas, praised the latest attack and said it showed Palestinians believe in resistance to deter Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
Mr. Fuld was born in New York but spent most of his life in Israel, moving here with his family in the early 1990s, according to friends.
“Ari Fuld was a passionate defender of Israel and an American patriot,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said on Twitter. “He represented the best of both countries and will be deeply missed.”
Josh Hasten, a friend of Mr. Fuld’s, said he aimed to show what he viewed as the realities of living in Israel.
“He was always on the road,” Mr. Hasten said, whether to deliver care packages to Israeli forces or to drive to the site of an attack to broadcast it on social media.
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