Israeli badly hurt in East Jerusalem stabbing attack; suspect shot near playing kids
Officer opens fire at alleged Palestinian stabber after brief chase in Sheikh Jarrah; victim in 20s undergoes surgery following attack in Givat HaMivtar neighborhood near Shuafat
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A young Israeli man was stabbed and seriously hurt on Saturday afternoon in what police said was a terror attack in East Jerusalem.
The alleged attacker was shot by an officer after a brief chase in a soccer field where dozens of young children were playing.
According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, the ultra-Orthodox man in his 20s was found with a knife in his back and seriously hurt in a park on Sheshet HaYamim street, in the Givat HaMivtar neighborhood between French Hill and Ramat Eshkol, close to Shuafat.
He was taken by MDA medics to the city’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The hospital said he was in a serious but stable condition, and was to undergo surgery.
Police said a large number of officers were dispatched to the scene to search for the alleged stabber who fled the scene by foot.
A short while later an officer identified the suspect in a soccer field in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, close to the police headquarters, as dozens of young children were playing and holding soccer practice.
The officer noticed the suspect was brandishing an object, which later was revealed to be the sleeve of the knife used in the attack some 800 meters (875 yards) away, and began a pursuit, police said.
בנשקים שלופים במגרש כדורגל: תיעוד הרגעים שאחרי נטרול המחבל@GalAharonovich pic.twitter.com/zeCSDbtx7L
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 22, 2022
According to police the suspect then turned around toward the officer. “The police officer who felt his life was in danger fired and neutralized him,” police said, publishing a photo of the object.
“I saw him running with an object in his hand and there were a lot of civilians in the area, there was a life-threatening danger to the civilians… the terrorist then turned around in my direction with the object in his hand in order to attack. I felt my life was in danger and fired one shot,” the officer said in a video published by police
The alleged stabber, a 16-year-old from the nearby West Bank town of Anata, was taken to the Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital in serious condition.
مصاد عبرية: منفذ العملية في محطة القطار بالقدس والتي أصيب بها مستوطن بجراح خطيرة، هو محمد أبو قطيش من ضاحية السلام القريبة من مخيم شعفاط والتي تقطن فيها عائلة منفذ عملية #عدي_التميمي، حيث قال الجريح محمد أبو قطيش خلال تحقيق ميداني سريع أنه نفذ العملية انتقامًا لعدي التميمي. pic.twitter.com/5gEV0KaxG9
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) October 22, 2022
Police said officers later arrested two of the stabber’s relatives in Anata, his father and brother. As forces left through the Shuafat refugee camp, Palestinians hurled stones and other objects, lightly wounding three officers, police added.
Earlier Saturday, a Palestinian driver slammed into a guard post at a crossing in the northern West Bank, in what Israeli authorities described as a suspected ramming attempt.
No Israeli forces were injured in the incident.
The incidents came amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, as Israeli troops continue to carry out an anti-terror campaign launched earlier this year after 19 people were killed in a string of attacks.
Four soldiers have been killed in the West Bank in attacks and during the arrest operations.
Over 120 Palestinians have also been killed, many — but not all — while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces.
