74-year-old Jewish Man Wounded in Stabbing by Arab in Old City

Jerusalem police sealed off the Old City on Thursday to search for the assailant who stabbed a 74-year-old Jewish man.

The victim was identified as Avraham Rubacha, a resident of Jerusalem’s Katamon neighborhood. He was hospitalized for what were described as moderate wounds. The blade apparently punctured his right lung.

The incident raised tensions already at the boiling point since Tuesday’s murder of a Jewish settler by gunfire in the West Bank.

The Old City assault was the latest in a wave of knife attacks by Arabs on Jews in Israel which have claimed five lives so far this month. The latest attack occurred on Shalshelet Street in the Moslem Quarter.

According to police sources, the victim was attacked from behind. An Arab shopkeeper offered first aid before he was rushed to a hospital.

At least 30 suspects have been taken into custody, according to police.

The police also arrested a 15-year-old Arab in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, who was found in possession of two knives. The youngster was identified as a resident of Beit Jala. Police sources said he confessed he had planned to stab Jews.

Security forces in Israel and the administered territories are bracing for trouble as Passover, which begins Friday night, converges with Land Day, a traditional day of Arab protests, on Saturday.

There was a foretaste of violence in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. A 12-year-old boy was killed in a clash between Palestinian demonstrators and Israel Defense Force soldiers in Rafah, the southernmost town in the territory.

At least 28 people were wounded.

According to the IDF, the riots were triggered by news that a 20-year-old Arab, shot by soldiers in an earlier incident, died of his wounds Wednesday.

Shots were fired Thursday at a Jewish vehicle in the Hebron hills in the West Bank. No one was hurt. The shooting occurred near the settlement of Otniel.