Three Israelis are recovering after a terrorist went on a stabbing rampage in Ra'anana, just north of Tel Aviv, last Shabbat.

The attack has shaken Ra'anana, an affluent city that is very popular with Western immigrants to Israel, including Britons. But it was nearly much worse.

The terrorist, a Palestinian who was in Israel illegally, stabbed three people in the streets and tried to enter a synagogue. He then ran through a park, into the garden of Dikla Dvir, and made his way towards her home.

He entered through French windows, wielding a knife, and appeared poised to stab Ms Dvir. She screamed and pushed him out, back through the open glass doors, drawing on what a friend later called "inexplicable strength".

Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld praised her bravery, saying: "She protected herself and the family and then transferred vital information to the police." Mr Rosenfeld said that the terrorist was captured at the scene, and questioned over the weekend.

In other incidents, on Sunday a terrorist tried unsuccessfully to stab soldiers in Hebron and, last Friday, two Palestinians tried to ram a vehicle into security forces at a West Bank crossing. There have now been 147 attacks since the current wave of terror began in mid-September.