CCTV captured the moment a Palestinian terrorist reaches into her handbag, pulls out a knife, and lunges at an Israeli guard. Courtesy: Municipal CCTV

THE chilling moment a Palestinian woman reaches into her handbag to pull out an enormous knife before lunging at an Israeli guard at a West Bank checkpoint has been caught on tape.

Security camera footage showed the woman wearing a black, full-length robe and a veil over her hair chatting with the guard and handing over documentation. As he looks down to inspect her papers, she reaches into her purse to pull out a long-bladed knife and swings it in his direction as they both fall out of the frame.

Israeli military said the attack on Yishai Kreitenberger happened yesterday morning in Beitar Illit at the entrance to a West Bank settlement. Mr Kreitenberger managed to escape serious injury and shot the woman, wounding her.

This morning it emerged that Mr Kreitenberg had been celebrating his 33rd birthday at the time of the incident.

He recounted his ordeal to Israeli news service thealgemeiner from his hospital bed at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

“I was standing at the city’s guard post when I noticed the terrorist walking towards me … she was tense, looking around (as though) she was unfamiliar with the place,” Mr Kreitenberg said.

“As she approached, she presented her green Palestinian ID card,” Kreitenberger continued, adding that the woman, who spoke to him only in Arabic, did not have the proper permits. “So I told her she could not enter. While I was talking, I saw her putting her hand in her purse. (When) I asked her why she was (doing that), she took out a knife and managed to scratch me with it.”

At this point he darted away, grabbed his weapon and shot her.

“It’s adrenaline; it’s pressure,” Mr Kreitenberger said. “But thank God — I thank God — that it ended the way it did. Today I’m 33, and I can say that I received my life as a (birthday) present.”

The incident was one of three terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria yesterday, including two stabbings and a car-ramming, which left six Israelis wounded, two of them critically.

Hours after the checkpoint incident an Israeli man showed up at a West Bank checkpoint with a wound to his stomach, Israeli military said. He said he was stabbed while shopping in a Palestinian village.

Since mid-September, 12 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings, while 74 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 47 who Israel said were involved in attacks or attempted attacks. The other 27 Palestinians were killed in clashes between stone-throwers and security forces.

In addition to stabbings, Palestinians have also carried out shooting attacks and used vehicles to attack Israelis.

The bloodshed was triggered by unrest at a major Jerusalem shrine revered by both Muslims and Jews, and quickly spread to Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza border.

Israel has blamed the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders. Palestinians say the violence is rooted in a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts.