East Jerusalem teen indicted for botched stabbing attack

16-year-old from the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood faces charge of attempted murder in failed knifing

By ToI Staff 13 January 2016, 2:27 pm

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Israeli security forces at the scene of an attempted stabbing of a Border Police officer in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, on October 17, 2015 (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

A 16-year-old Palestinian teenager who allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli man was indicted at the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday for attempted murder.

According to the indictment, the Jabel Mukaber teen was inspired to attack Israelis after watching the bodies of Palestinian assailants who were slain while carrying out attacks returned to local authorities for burial.

He went to a bus stop in the nearby Jewish Israeli neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, where he attempted to stab a bystander before fleeing the scene. The knife failed to cause any injury to the Israeli, police said. The unnamed teenager turned himself in to the police a short time later.

He faces charges of attempted murder and possession of a knife.

Armon Hanatziv was the scene of a deadly shooting attack in mid-October of last year — Richard Lakin, 76; Haviv Haim, 78; and Alon Govberg, 51, died of their injuries after Palestinian terrorists opened fire on a bus in the area.

On Tuesday, a Palestinian man tried to stab a soldier near the Beit Anun junction in the Hebron area. The man rushed an Israel Defense Forces patrol, while brandishing a knife. The soldiers opened fire, killing the attacker. The soldiers were not hurt, the army said.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.