Israeli man and son stabbed by local teen during visit to West Bank office of Palestinian dentist

Israeli security forces clash with Palestinians during searches following a stabbing attack in the West Bank village of Azzun, on Sept. 7, 2019. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90) 

Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli man and his son were stabbed and injured by a Palestinian teen during a visit to a Palestinian dentist in his West Bank office.

A 15-year-old Palestinian boy asked Yosef Peretz, 60, and his 17-year-old son if they were Jewish on Saturday morning outside of the dentists’ office in the Palestinian village of Azzun, located about 10 miles from the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba. When they said they were Jewish the Palestinian teen stabbed them with his pocket knife.

The father was stabbed in the arm; the son, who tried to protect his father, was stabbed several times in the back. The dentist came out of his office to help his Israeli patients, according to reports. They were evacuated from Azzun, treated by emergency responders at the nearby Eliyahu checkpoint and then taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.

Ynet reported on Saturday that the Palestinian teen had turned himself in to the Palestinian security services. Other reports said that the Israel Defense Forces was searching for the teen.

Peretz, of Ofakim in southern Israel, told reporters that he has been visiting the dentist in Azzun for a year with no incident.