Police arrest armed Palestinian in Jerusalem, suspect he planned stabbing

A Palestinian man armed with a knife was detained by police officers in Jerusalem’s Old City early Friday morning. Police suspect the man was planning a stabbing attack

According to police, the 33-year-old from East Jerusalem was spotted by officers who were monitoring security cameras after he “suspiciously followed worshipers” in the Old City.

Border Police officers detained the man and he dropped the knife he had in his pocket, police said.

Citing a preliminary investigation, police said the man apparently planned to carry out a stabbing attack.

He was taken for further questioning and would be later taken to a court to have his detention extended.

The alleged attempted attack came after a Palestinian man stabbed and wounded an Israeli man on a bus in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood on Tuesday.

Police say there have been several attempted stabbing attacks in Jerusalem’s Old City in recent weeks.

On June 28, a Palestinian man was detained on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City after he allegedly attempted to stab officers before fleeing the scene.

A week before that, a Palestinian man turned himself in to officers near the Temple Mount after allegedly planning a stabbing attack.

Between mid-March and the beginning of May, a string of deadly attacks across Israel and the West Bank left 19 people dead.