Jerusalem stabbing victims released from hospital, day after attack

Two ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students recovering after being knifed near Central Bus Station; Palestinian terrorist remains in serious condition

Police and rescue personnel at the scene of a terror attack at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Police and rescue personnel at the scene of a terror attack at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Two people wounded in an alleged terror stabbing in Jerusalem on Monday were cleared to return home on Tuesday, the Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem said.

The two men, ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students in their 20s, were rushed to the hospital in moderate condition after suffering stab wounds to their upper bodies during the attack near the capital’s central bus station Monday afternoon.

Authorities say that Basil Shawamra, a 17-year-old Palestinian from the Hebron area, entered a store near the usually-bustling bus station and knifed the two men. He was shot by a police officer as he fought with one of the victims and was hospitalized at Shaarei Zedek in serious condition.

Palestinian sources said that he was still in serious condition and intubated on a ventilator.

“He pulled out a meat knife, not a very large one, and stabbed my friend five times,” Meir Navon, one of the victims, told the Ynet news site. “Then he came at me and managed to stab me in the back. I ran toward the store and he caught me by the suit and tried to stab me in the neck, head and back.”

“I said to myself, ‘I have to defend myself,’ and I grabbed his throat and we fell together to the floor, where I grabbed his hand so he could not stab me anymore.”

Police and personnel paramedics evacuate the injured alleged assailant after a knife attack at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, on September 13, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups on Monday praised the attack and said that it was linked to an uptick in violent incidents sparked by the escape of six security prisoners from an Israeli jail.

Earlier Monday, a Palestinian man tried to stab two Israel Defense Forces soldiers at a hitchhiking station, but was shot before he could inflict harm, according to the military.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank over the past week following the dramatic escape of six Palestinian prisoners from the high-security Gilboa Prison on September 6.

Four of the six prisoners were recaptured by police over the weekend, but two remain at large, and security officials believe that they may be hiding out in the West Bank and receiving assistance from Palestinians there.

Heavy gunfire was heard in the Jenin region in the northern West Bank on Sunday, as Israeli security forces reportedly came under fire during the manhunt for the remaining two escaped prisoners.

Overnight Sunday, terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets at Israel, marking a third consecutive night of rocket fire from Gaza.

Separately, on Friday afternoon, an assailant was shot as he attempted to stab police officers in Jerusalem’s Old City, and later died of his wounds, police and hospital officials said.

The attempted stabbing occurred at the Old City’s Council (Majlis) Gate, on the northern side of the western Temple Mount wall, police said. Video of the incident showed the assailant repeatedly trying to stab a police officer, who backed away and opened fire.

Aaron Boxerman and Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.

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