JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian teenager stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli Border Police officer in Jerusalem.
The officer, who was not identified in reports, was stabbed in the neck and the upper body outside the Damascus Gate in the Old City on Sunday morning. He shot his assailant before collapsing, according to Israeli news reports. Both were taken to Jerusalem hospitals in serious condition.
The alleged attacker was identified as an 18-year-old male from Hebron who had entered Israel from the West Bank illegally.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in a statement commended the officer for his quick action in subduing the attacker and called on Israelis to support the beleaguered city.
“We must continue our daily routines,” Barkat said. “I call on all residents of the State of Israel to continue visiting Jerusalem and strengthen it.”
The stabbing attack comes two days after an Israeli man was killed and a second was injured in a shooting near the West Bank settlement of Dolev.
