A Palestinian terrorist stabbed two people, injuring one of them seriously, in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday morning.
The terror attack occurred on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period of heightened tensions. The suspected terrorist, a 19-year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank, was shot dead by police officers at the scene.
“Around 6:20 a.m., the assailant entered through the Damascus Gate. He stabbed a man inside and began running from the scene. Along the way, he saw [a 16-year-old boy] and stabbed him as well,” police said.
Following the attack, police said they deployed additional troops around the Old City.
פיגוע הדקירה בעיר העתיקה בירושלים – השוטרים ביצעו ירי ממוקד ונטרלו מחבל שדקר שני בני אדם. מתחקור זהותו של המפגע עלה כי מדובר בתושב השטחים כבן 19. מפקד המחוז, ניצב דורון ידיד, הגיע לזירה וקיים הערכת מצב, במהלכה הנחה על בידוק מוגבר במעברי עוטף ירושלים ופריסת כוחות ברחבי העיר pic.twitter.com/gxhgQ3RoIn
— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) May 31, 2019
The man injured near the Damascus Gate sustained stab wounds to the neck and head, putting him in near-critical condition, according to the Times of Israel.
“I saw a man in his 40s lying on the stairs near the Damascus Gate barely conscious and with stab wounds to the upper body. I gave him first aid — stopping the bleeding — and he was quickly put into a Magen David Adom intensive care ambulance,” one of the medics said.
He was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment. The hospital said he was unconscious and hooked up to a ventilator.
The knife used in the stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on 31 May 2019 (Israel Police)
The second victim, 16-year-old Yisrael Meir Nachumberg, was stabbed in his back inside the walls of the Old City. He ran from the scene toward the Old City’s Hurva Synagogue, where he received assistance. He sustained light-to-moderate wounds and was taken to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, medics said.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Nachumberg told reporters he was riding his bike through the Old City and stopped to examine the wheel when the terrorist lunged at him from behind. The video in the tweet above shows this.
“I thought he punched me,” he told the Ynet news site. “And suddenly I see a long knife full of blood.”
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin is visiting the victims in hospital this morning.
“We are praying for the recovery of those injured in this morning’s stabbing attack in Jerusalem. I am with the families who are at their dear ones’ sides in hospital in these difficult hours,” Rivlin said.
“We will not be deterred by this despicable terror that seeks to cut short life, and its perpetrators and their accomplices will face the full force of the law,” he added.
We are praying for the recovery of those injured in this morning's stabbing attack in #Jerusalem.
I am with the families who are at their dear ones' sides in hospital in these difficult hours.— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) May 31, 2019
Israel has experienced a number of stabbing attacks by Palestinian terrorists over the past few years, however, there have only been a handful of incidents so far in 2019. This is the latest attack since February.
