Israeli security personnel patrol the area outside Damascus Gate following a security incident by the gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 31, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Ammar Awad.

JNS.org – Israeli security guards at the Hashmonaim crossing near the city of Modi’in, in central Israel, arrested a Palestinian man on Wednesday for allegedly trying to carry out a stabbing attack.

The guards, embedded with the Defense Ministry’s Border Crossings Authority, spotted the suspect “suspiciously walking in the direction of the crossing,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The guards ordered him to stop, at which point the suspect threw a knife on the ground and was arrested. There were no casualties,” the ministry added.

Recent weeks have seen an uptick in violent incidents as tensions between Jerusalem and Ramallah have increased over Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.

Mahmoud al-Habbash, a top adviser to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, warned on Wednesday that hostilities could erupt if Israel moves ahead with the plan.

“Every home, every young person … can turn into a powder keg if Israel carries out the annexation. When a person loses hope for peace and justice he can turn into a bomb,” he said.