Palestinian tries to stab Border Police in Jerusalem

Troops subdue, arrest young man after he lunges at them with knife at Old City’s Damascus Gate

By Judah Ari Gross 20 February 2016, 6:45 pm 0 Edit

Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.

Security forces at the scene of a stabbing attack near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on February 19, 2016 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

An 18-year-old Palestinian attempted to stab Border Police forces in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday evening but was stopped and arrested.

No Israeli troops were hurt in the incident.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said security forces at the Damascus Gate approached the young man, who was behaving suspiciously, when he pulled out a knife and tried to stab them.

The troops subdued and arrested him, aided by a trained dog.

Regional police commander Haim Shmueli said following the incident that policemen’s vigilance “proved itself, preventing harm to human lives.”

The knife used by an 18-year-old Palestinian who tried to stab Border Police officers at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate on February 20, 2016 (Courtesy Israel Police)

It was the second attack at Damascus Gate over the weekend. On Friday a Palestinian attacker was killed as he carried out a stabbing attack there that left three people wounded.

Earlier Saturday a 13-year-old was caught in Hebron with a knife which he said he had intended to use to stab soldiers. Troops found the weapon while searching the child at a checkpoint outside the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

Also in Hebron, security forces detained 12 Israelis on Saturday as they joined a commemoration for 29 Palestinian worshipers killed by Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein in 1994.

Some 200 people, most of them Palestinians, took part in the anniversary demonstration which was dispersed after some protesters threw stones at troops, an army spokeswoman said. Army Radio reported that the Israelis were detained for entering Palestinian-controlled territory without authorization.

In other security incidents Friday, troops killed a Palestinian as he tried to ram his car into them at a junction near the village of Silwad, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Another man died after being shot during a clash with IDF troops in the West Bank. The IDF said that he and another protester had been shot after opening fire at troops on the scene. The second protester was lightly hurt.

Since October 1, Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks have taken the lives of at least 27 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. At the same time, over 175 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks but others during violent clashes and demonstrations.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.