Israeli soldier is left with a kitchen knife wedged in his back as attacker stabs two in Jerusalem
Israeli soldier is left with a kitchen knife wedged in his back as attacker stabs two people in Jerusalem before being shot dead
- Soldier and civilian were stabbed near Sheikh Jarrah, east Jerusalem, on Monday
- Video showed the soldier with a knife in his back as he was treated by medics
- Both being treated for upper body stab wounds at Hadassah University Hospital
- Assailant was shot dead at the scene by Israeli officers, police said
An Israeli soldier was left with a kitchen knife wedged in his back after an attacker stabbed two people in Jerusalem on Monday before the assailant was shot dead by police.
The attack came in the tense aftermath of an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers that was triggered by protests and clashes in Jerusalem.
A civilian was also stabbed in the incident which police described as a terrorist attack. Police did not provide any details about the attacker but referred to him as a ‘terrorist,’ a term usually reserved for Palestinian assailants.
An Israeli soldier was left with a kitchen knife wedged in his back after being stabbed in Jerusalem on Monday
The assailant also stabbed a civilian before he was shot dead by police, who described the incident as a terrorist attack
The attack came in the the tense aftermath of an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers that was triggered by protests and clashes in Jerusalem
The Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated two men in their early 20s with stab wounds to their upper bodies.
The military identified one of those wounded as a soldier. Both are being treated at Hadassah University Hospital.
The IDF said in a statement: ‘The soldier received medical treatment at the scene and was evacuated to a hospital for further medical treatment’.
Video posted on social media showed the soldier, wearing an Israeli air force uniform, with a knife lodged in his back as he knelt on the ground and received treatment from medics.
The incident took place near the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where the potential evictions of Palestinian families drew mass protests and helped spark 11 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants
Israeli emergency services were seen transporting the body of the assailant who was shot dead after the stabbing in east Jerusalem
Police did not provide any details about the attacker but referred to him as a ‘terrorist,’ a term usually reserved for Palestinian assailants
Police said in a statement: ‘Around 1:30 p.m., an assailant arrived at the light rail station, pulled out a knife and used it to injure two people there.
‘Officers who were on the scene responded quickly, shooting the assailant and neutralizing him’.
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana said the officers who shot the assailant ‘acted quickly and resolutely, while striving for accuracy’.
The incident occurred near the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where the potential evictions of Palestinian families drew mass protests and helped spark 11 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.
An Egyptian-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held into a fourth day on Monday.
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana said the officers who shot the assailant ‘acted quickly and resolutely, while striving for accuracy’
Israeli security forces were seen guarding the scene of the stabbing in east Jerusalem on Monday
The site of the stabbing near east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood was cordoned off by Israeli security forces
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to visit the region this week for talks with Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders.
The secretary of State is attempting to lay the groundwork to eventually resume long-stalled peace talks in the region by visiting Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt.
‘Following up on our quiet, intensive diplomacy to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, I have asked my Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, to travel to the Middle East this week,’ President Joe Biden released in a statement Monday morning on the upcoming trip.
‘Secretary Blinken will meet with Israeli leaders about our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,’ the president wrote. ‘He will continue our Administration’s efforts to rebuild ties to, and support for, the Palestinian people and leaders, after years of neglect.’
‘And he will engage other key partners in the region, including on the coordinated international effort to ensure immediate assistance reaches Gaza in a way that benefits the people there and not Hamas, and on reducing the risk of further conflict in the coming months.’
Blinken’s trip comes after he said that the only way to reach true peace between Israel and Palestinians is to give the latter their own state.
The White House announced Monday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) will visit the Middle East this week to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders
President Joe Biden said there had been no shift in his position on Israel despite urging the Israeli military to de-escalate strikes on Gaza as he came under pressure from Democrats to do more to protect Palestinians
Monday’s attack is the latest test for a fragile ceasefire agreed on Friday between Israel and Hamas following nearly two weeks of violent conflict that left at least 250 people, mostly Palestinians, dead.
The conflict saw Israel unleash hundreds of airstrikes across Gaza at what it said were militant targets.
Hamas and other armed groups fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israel, most of which were intercepted or landed in open areas.
The Israeli strikes levelled a number of large buildings in the impoverished coastal territory, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians.
Lynn Hastings, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said some 300 buildings in Gaza – including an estimated 1,000 housing units – had been completely destroyed.
She said hundreds more had been heavily damaged. She cautioned that those were ‘very, very preliminary numbers’ as the damage is still being assessed.
Hastings said a total of six hospitals and 11 primary health care centres were damaged, and that one hospital was not functioning because of a lack of electricity.
She said around 800,000 people lack access to tap water and 400,000 people do not have proper sewage treatment because of damage to local infrastructure.
Shocking pictures have shown dead children being pulled from the wreckage of homes in Gaza after another night of air strikes in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Pictured: An injured child is pulled from the wreckage of a home in Gaza following an Israeli air strike
Israeli police take arrest a Palestinian as Jewish extremists make a raid on Al-Aqsa Compound yesterday
On Sunday, Israeli police escorted more than 120 Jewish visitors to a flashpoint holy site in Jerusalem.
Police cleared young Palestinians out of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and barred entry to Muslims under the age of 45, according to the Islamic Waqf, which oversees the site under Jordanian custodianship.
Muslims who entered were required to leave their IDs with police at the entrance. It said six Palestinians were detained, with four later released.
The Waqf said Sunday was the first time Jews had been allowed to visit the site since May 4, a week before the war broke out.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. It sits on a sprawling hilltop in Jerusalem’s Old City that is revered by Jews as their holiest site because it was the location of the biblical temples.
The site has seen several outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence over the years and was the epicenter of the 2000 Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Brief clashes between police and protesters broke out after Friday prayers but did not set off wider violence.
