Hadar Cohen, 19, killed in Damascus Gate attack, to be laid to rest

The funeral procession for a Border Police officer who succumbed to wounds she sustained during a shooting and stabbing attack near Jerusalem’s Old City yesterday begins at the military cemetery in Yahud.

Hadar Cohen, 19, from Or Yehuda, was rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in critical condition after she was wounded in the attack. Hospital officials said she was shot in the head, and she was pronounced dead a short while later. “We succeeded in stabilizing her condition for a time, but her head wound was so severe she never had a chance,” a hospital spokeswoman said.

Another policewomen was in serious but stable condition at the hospital, with wounds all over her body, including her head, the spokeswoman said.

The three attackers, identified as Ahmed Abou Al-Roub, Mohammed Kameel and Ahmad Rajeh Ismail Zakarneh, all hailing from the northern West Bank, arrived at the scene armed with apparently locally fabricated “Carl Gustav” rifles, knives and two pipe bombs, police said. Police initially suspected a third item found at the scene was a bomb, but sappers determined it was an abandoned bag.

A third victim, identified only as a 20-year-old Israeli, was lightly wounded and treated at the scene.

Cohen was drafted into the Border Police only two months ago, and was still in training as she patrolled the area outside Damascus Gate on Wednesday.

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Cohen is survived by her parents, a brother and a sister.

Cohen was part of a three-member squad that spotted the three Palestinians behaving in a suspicious manner and asked to see their identification papers. As one attacker withdrew his ID card, the others opened fire and pulled out knives to attack the officers.

According to police, Cohen managed to return fire before she was mortally wounded, despite being surprised by the attackers.