An Israeli blacksmith in Rishon le-Zion was stabbed and severely wounded Thursday by an Arab worker from the Gaza Strip he once employed.
The suspect was arrested later trying to reenter the Gaza Strip at the Erez checkpoint.
The stabbing was the latest in the wave of random attacks on Israelis that began with the murder of three Jews by an Arab worker in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem on Oct. 21.
Thursday’s victim, Shalom Shtazi, was stabbed 10 times in the chest at his workshop and underwent surgery. His condition was reported stable.
The suspect, who reportedly confessed, was not immediately identified by police but was said to have worked for Shtazi in the past.
He reportedly came to the blacksmith’s shop Wednesday and was given permission to spend the night.
An altercation developed between the two on Thursday morning and the suspect attacked Shtazi with a knife, police said.
Tensions between Arabs and Jews in Israel have been mounting precipitously since the shooting deaths by Israeli police of at least 17 Arabs at the Temple Mount on Oct. 8.
In the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, a 5-year-old boy was seriously injured in what was reportedly an accident when an Arab worker dropped a plank from the third floor at a construction site.
On Thursday, parents at a Bat Yam school refused to allow their children to take a school trip on a bus whose driver was an Israeli Arab.
Meanwhile, B’Tselem, the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, announced a sharp rise in the number of Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israeli security forces in October.
It counted 31 dead in the territories, including 16 fatally shot during the Temple Mount riots of Oct. 8.
B’Tselem did not count the 17th victim, who was an Israeli citizen.
The Associated Press reported that 21 Palestinians were murdered in October by fellow Arabs who suspected them of collaborating with Israel.
A Palestinian shot by Israel Defense Force troops Wednesday in Jenin in the West Bank died Thursday of his wounds.
According to the latest estimate by B’Tselem, 712 Palestinians have been killed by security forces since the intifada began in December 1987.
Meanwhile, soldiers Wednesday night demolished the home of Amer Abu Sirhan, the Palestinian accused of stabbing three Jews to death last Sunday in revenge for the Temple Mount killings.
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