Female assailant tries to stab cop in Jerusalem, is shot dead — police

A teenage female assailant who attempted to stab police officers was shot dead by security forces at the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday, police said.

None of the officers was injured in the alleged attack attempt.

According to police, the girl approached a group of officers who were standing guard at the gate.

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“The terrorist arrived from Sultan Suleiman Street toward the steps of the Damascus Gate. She approached a police and border guard force stationed in the area. She took out a knife and while screaming ‘Allahu Akhbar’ tried to attack them,” the spokesperson said.

“The force responded with determination and professionalism, and neutralized her,” the spokesperson added.

Israeli border guards secure the scene of a reported stabbing attack carried out by a Palestinian girl at Damascus Gate, a main entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City, on May 7, 2017. (Menahem Kahana/AFP PHOTO)

The assailant was 16-year-old Fatima Hajiji, a resident of Qarawat Bani Zeid, north of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Following the attack, police closed off the area, the spokesperson said.

A knife police say was used in an attempted stabbing attack at the Damascus Gate, outside Jerusalem’s Old City, on May 7, 2017. (Israel Police)

Video from the scene showed some light clashes — mainly pushing and yelling — between police and civilians who appear to be local residents of the area.

Damascus Gate has been the site of many stabbing and shooting attacks in the past two years.

In late March, a Palestinian woman named Siham Rateb Nimir attempted to stab police officers at the flashpoint site and was also shot dead.

Her son, Mustafa Nimir, was shot dead by Border Police officers in September after an apparent misunderstanding at an East Jerusalem checkpoint.

AFP contributed to this report.