An alleged terrorist stabbed two people outside Jerusalem’s central bus station on Monday before being killed by a police officer.
Ambulance service Magen David Adom said paramedics treated two men in their twenties who were moderately injured and took them to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The hospital said the two were in stable condition and had suffered stab wounds to the upper body.
A Border Police officer shot and “neutralized” the suspect, who was being treated after being checked by a sapper, according to a police statement.
Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman said the suspect, whom he identified as a 17-year-old Palestinian from the Hebron area, was in serious condition.
He added that police arrested two people near the bus station on suspicion of assisting the assailant and were looking for others.
Turgeman told reporters at the scene that the attacker entered a store in front of the bus station and stabbed two shoppers. While fighting one of them, he was shot by a police officer, according to Turgeman.
A knife used in a stabbing attack on the Jerusalem bus station on September 13, 2021. (Israel Police)
“There is no doubt that there is an escalation,” said the Jerusalem police chief, who pointed to several other recent attacks.
The incident followed an assassination attempt in the West Bank last Monday in which a Palestinian tried to stab two IDF soldiers at a hitchhiking station, but was shot before it could cause damage, according to the military. . The attacker was shot in the hand and taken to Shaare Zedek in a moderate to severe condition.
Tensions have spread across the West Bank last week following the dramatic escape of six Palestinian prisoners from Gilboa High Security Prison last Monday. Four of the six detainees were recovered by police over the weekend, but two remain at large and security officials believe they may be hiding in the West Bank and receiving assistance from Palestinians there.
Preliminary: Alleged stabbing attack on Jerusalem Central Bus Station. Two 25-year-olds were moderately injured and the terrorist was neutralized@ SuleimanMas1 pic.twitter.com/x7g5W12cNn
– News here (@kann_news) September 13, 2021
Heavy gunfire was heard in the northern West Bank region of Jenin on Sunday, Israeli security forces said during the manhunt of the two remaining fugitive prisoners.
On Sunday night, terrorists from the Gaza Strip fired two rockets at Israel, which were intercepted by the Gaza Strip, marking a third consecutive night of rockets from Gaza.
Separately, on Friday afternoon, an assailant was shot while trying to stab police officers in the old city of Jerusalem and later died from his injuries, police and hospital officials said. . The attempted stabbing occurred at the Old City Council (Majlis) gate on the north side of the western wall of Temple Mount, police said. The video of the incident showed the assailant repeatedly trying to stab a police officer, who pulled away and opened fire.