JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Israeli Border Police officers were seriously wounded in a Jerusalem attack by three Palestinian assailants, who were shot and killed.
One of the officers was critically wounded in the Wednesday afternoon attack at the Damascus Gate leading into the Old City, according to reports immediately following the attack. (The officer, Hadar Cohen, 19, died later of her injuries.) The other was in serious condition at Hadassah Hospital at Mount Scopus.
Security services killed the three attackers, who carried a rifle, knives and an explosive device, according to the Israel Police. They are from the Jenin area in the West Bank.
Border Police stopped the attackers asking to see their identification documents. While one of the assailants took out his documents, another produced a gun and shot up the area, according to police.
Police believe the men were planning a larger attack, however.
Hamas praised the attack, saying it dealt a “severe blow” to Israel’s security apparatus. Hamas spokesman Hussam Badran called the attack “a turning point in ‘Al-Quds Intifada,'” according to Jerusalem Post reporter Khaled Abu Toameh.
