JERUSALEM (JTA) — An employee of a West Bank falafel shop said the Palestinian teen who stabbed Ari Fuld was running at her brandishing his knife when Fuld shot him.
Hila Peretz told Israel’s 10 News that she had served Palestinian assailant Khalil Jabarin, 17, the falafel platter he had purchased and sat on a railing outside the shop at the Gush Etzion junction for about 45 minutes before pulling out a knife and attacking Fuld, a 45-year-old father of four.
She said that after the teen stabbed Fuld, he began running toward her brandishing the knife. Peretz said she started running away from him shouting “terrorist.”
After he was stabbed, Fuld, an American and Israeli citizen who served in the Israeli army and continued to serve in the reserves, ran after the assailant, planted his feet and shot at him before collapsing.
“I started running down the stairs but [Jabarin] jumped to try to get in front of me. The man that was killed really saved my life,” she said of Fuld. “He’s not just a hero. He gave his life for me.”
Surveillance cameras captured the attack and Fuld’s actions.
A civilian bystander also shot the assailant, who remains in a Jerusalem hospital with slight injuries. Fuld was pronounced dead at a Jerusalem hospital.
