Security around Damascus Gate to increase following attack

Following a deadly stabbing attack on Friday, Israeli political and police officials initiated a plan to expand security enforcement around the Old City of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, police say.

Friday’s attack, in which 23-year-old border guard Hadas Malka was stabbed to death, was only the most recent at the Damascus Gate, which has seen dozens of stabbings and shootings over the past two years.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was considering turning the Damascus Gate area into a “sterile area,” but declined to elaborate on what that would mean.

A police official says the discussions on if or how the security procedures around the Old City entrance would change were being held with “consultation from high-level political leadership.”

“A proposal was made, and the topic is still in the stages of study and discussion,” the spokesperson says.

“It’s still too early to establish [the plan] and make pronouncements,” she adds.

— Judah Ari Gross