An Israeli man was wounded in a stabbing attack at a commercial complex near the village of al-Auja in the West Bank on Sunday, prompting Israeli forces to launch a large-scale search for the suspect who fled the scene.
According to Israeli police, the victim, a man in his 20s, sustained moderate injuries. The Israeli public broadcaster Kan, citing a security source, reported the attack occurred on a main road in the Jordan Valley.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the Israeli army said it had initiated a search operation with a substantial police presence. The military confirmed it had set up roadblocks in the village and surrounding areas and was in “constant contact with the residents and security forces in the area.”
The Palestinian group Hamas commented on the incident, stating the attack was a response to Israeli military operations in the West Bank and at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem. “This operation demonstrates that our people are determined to resist the occupation in every part of Palestine,” Hamas said in a statement.
The attack comes amid a period of increased incidents in the region. Data attributed to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the source report noted a rise in Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. The data showed a monthly average of 190 attacks in the first four months of 2026, an increase from a monthly average of 153 in 2025.
In a separate event on Sunday, Israeli forces closed the western entrance of al-Mughayyir, a village north of Ramallah, according to Palestinian officials. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that troops prevented residents from entering or leaving the village and fired gas canisters. Wafa stated that the western entrance has been the sole outlet for the village since its eastern entrance was closed by Israeli forces in October 2023.
