An IDF soldier who claimed he was stabbed in the leg by three Arab assailants in Jerusalem told police Thursday that he had invented the story.

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Police launched an investigation into the claims after spotting inconsistencies in the soldier's story of an attack in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood, and officers were questioning him when he confessed.

It was initially reported that the soldier had been taken to Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus with light leg wounds, but it later became clear that he was suffering from a superficial injury and had in fact stayed at home.

Police initially said that they believe the attack to have had a nationalistic motive, and there has indeed been a spate of knife attacks against Jews in Israel in recent months.

Earlier this month, a haredi man in his 30s was stabbed at the entrance to Petah Tikva. The man sustained moderate injuries, and received assistance from drivers in passing vehicles. Police suspect that this had also been a nationalistic attack.

In January, a Border Police officer was stabbed in Jerusalem by a 16-year-old Arab girl, and sustained light wounds.

And in November, a Jewish youth was was stabbed in his back by two Palestinians in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, as he was leaving the Western Wall.