Israeli soldiers and police inspect the scene of a shooting attack at the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Ofra, north of the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank, on December 9, 2018. Photo: Ofer Meir/Flash90

A 21-year-old Jordanian citizen has been charged with attempting to commit an act of terrorism in Israel and resisting arrest.

The man was identified in the indictment as a resident of the West Bank town of Tulkarm who holds Jordanian citizenship.

Israeli news site Mako reported that the indictment stated the suspect crossed illegally into Israel from the West Bank armed with a large knife, intending to murder an IDF soldier in the town of Hadera.

The indictment charged that the man obtained the knife and crossed the border with Israel on July 22 in the early morning hours. He then took a bus to the center of Hadera, where he waited until nightfall to search for a victim.

After his efforts proved unsuccessful, the suspect sat at a bus stop around 11pm, where he raised the suspicions of police officers passing by in a vehicle. One of the police officers asked for the suspect’s identity papers, which showed that he was in Israel illegally.

One of the officers told the suspect that he was under arrest, at which point the suspect physically attacked the officer. He drew the knife and was struck by one of the officers in response. The officer then drew his gun.

At that point, the suspect attempted to flee and was pursued by the officers, who feared that he might attack passersby. One of the officers fired a warning shot, at which time the suspect again confronted the officers, one of whom shot him in the leg. The wounded suspect was taken to the hospital.

The suspect was formally indicted on Monday. The charges include planning to commit murder and an act of terrorism, illegal entry into Israel, and resisting arrest.