The 41-year-old police officer stabbed in the back by a Palestinian
terrorist Monday evening next to the West Bank Highway 60 junction, just outside
of Jerusalem and Ramallah, is in stable condition, a Shaare Zedek Medical Center
official said Tuesday.

The officer arrived at the hospital with a
15-centimeter blade still lodged in his back, in serious condition. Although the
knife was successfully removed during surgery, hospital spokeswoman Shoham Ruvio
said the wound resulted in the loss of a kidney.

“It was a major injury
because the knife penetrated his back, stomach and kidney, but he is much better
now and will probably be removed from the Intensive Care Unit to a regular
department tomorrow,” said Ruvio of the Adam resident. “He’ll be okay and able
to function on one kidney – there are many people in the world who
do.”

In the meantime, Ruvio said the officer is awake and speaking with
guests, including his two children. “He’s much, much better, thank God,”
she said.

According to police, the attack was carried out at 5 p.m. near
the Geva Binyamin settlement by the unidentified assailant, who stabbed the
officer once in the lower back with the large knife before fleeing the
scene.

A second officer unsuccessfully fired several shots at the
suspect, who is believed to have sought refuge in the Palestinian village of
Jaba. Police said Tuesday evening that the suspect remains at large.

“At
the moment our search is continuing in coordination with the IDF in Palestinian
villages and around the Ramallah area,” said Police spokesman Micky
Rosenfeld. “We hope to make an arrest shortly.”

Monday’s assault
came approximately 24 hours after Border Police thwarted a separate
knife-wielding terrorist attack at the Ma’aleh Adumim checkpoint Sunday evening,
and a bomb was detonated on an empty bus in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam
earlier that afternoon. No one was wounded in either
incident.

Rosenfeld said that while all three incidents are considered
terrorist attacks, they are presently believed to be unrelated, pending further
investigation.

“We are currently carrying out security assessments,” he
said, adding that police are asking the public to remain at a heightened state
of alert.

“We are asking people to be aware of their surroundings on
buses, stores and all public spaces,” he said.

On Tuesday night settlers
rallied in the cold and the dark at the Adam junction.

They called on the
government to improve security in the area, to halt its negotiations with the
Palestinians and to refuse to move forward with the scheduled release of
Palestinian prisoners set for December 29.

Israel had promised the
Palestinian Authority to release 104 prisoners in four batches during the nine
month negotiation process. On Sunday the third such release of Palestinians
involved in past terror attacks, is expected to take place.

“We will
continue to grow and develop our settlements here,” said Avi Ro’eh, who heads
the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria.

Negotiations
based on the release of terrorists only leads to terror attacks, said Ro’eh,
adding that “our experience in the past and present has taught us
this.”

“We call on the government of Israel, all its ministers and Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to set out red lines.

One doesn’t, under any
circumstances, hold a dialogue with killers that do not hesitate to harm women,
children and the elderly,” he said.

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this
report.

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