An Israel Defense Forces soldier was stabbed in an apparent terror attack near the Haganah train station in south Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon. Almog Shilony, 20 of Modi'in, was evacuated to hospital in critical condition succumbed to his wounds in the evening.

Emergency services treated Shiloni at the site before evacuating him to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; he had sustained numerous stab wounds.

Shiloni served in the Israel Air Force. His twin brother Sahar told media on Monday evening that Almog "just wanted to get back to the base, and was simple stabbed and hurt. It just can't be like this. There are soldiers and people getting hurt, being stabbed in the streets. You can't go out in this country alone, you can't go out into this country quietly. This is our state, we fought for it, and my twin brother fought for his life."

The suspect in the attack was named as Nur a-Din Hashiya, from the Askar refugee camp in Nablus, who entered Israel illegally. He was apprehended and held for questioning.

"Civilians drew our attention to a building on Levanda Street," said Sgt. Major Yaacov Shamiya, the policeman who captured the suspect. "We ascended the stairs and saw blood drops on the first floor. We continued upward and saw the suspect lying on his back. He didn't speak or resist when we did an initial search. He was in a state of collapse."

"From initial investigations it emerges that the incident was a terrorist knife attack," the Israel Police reported via their Twitter feed.

"The incident is over and the suspect will be transferred to the Shin Bet security service for interrogation," said Tel Aviv police commander Maj. Gen Benzie Sau. "He was quickly detained by a police unit on the spot in the context of the 'safe streets' campaign."

Sau added that the police had not received any specific intelligence regarding the attack but had been on alert for some time due to the recent incidents in Jerusalem.

"A young man of about 20 lay in the road adjacent to the Haganah train station," said senior Magen David paramedic Moshe Amir, who arrived early on the scene. "He was unconscious, had no pulse and was not breathing. There was a huge crowd at the scene.

"We started giving him emergency treatment, including resuscitation, until an ambulance arrived and he was taken to hospital in critical condition."

Magen David Adom also treated two people with shock.

The attack took place hours before another stabbing incident near the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut. Dalia Lamkus, 26, was killed and two other people were wounded.

Two people were killed on October 23, when a Palestinian drove his car into a light rail train station near Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, running over passersby. That was followed by the assassination attempt on Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick on October 30, which left Glick seriously wounded.

On November 5, two people were killed and several seriously wounded, when a Palestinian drove his van into pedestrians near the Old City in Jerusalem.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennet said that Monday's stabbing attack proved that the current "concrete block" defensive concept was bankrupt.

"It is impossible to shield people on the streets," Bennett said. "Instead we must ensure that the inciters, those who throw fireworks and the rioters, sit in jail. That is the correct security policy. Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] has become the successor of [former Palestinian President Yasser] Arafat, in a different guise. He is a terrorist in a suit and we need to treat him accordingly."

Jack Khoury contributed to this report.