2 Israeli Police Officers Injured In Palestinian Stabbing Attack
Image by getty images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Israeli Border Police officers were injured in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The officers were stabbed by an alleged Palestinian assailant overnight on Sunday at their post near the Lions Gate. A third officer reportedly shot and killed the man, identified by the Palestinian Maan news agency as Ibrahim Mahmoud Matar, 25, a resident of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabar.
Israel police said Matar was taken into the post by police to search him after he was stopped at the Lion’s Gate before entering the Old City. He then took out the knife and attacked the officers, according to police. Palestinian witnesses told Maan that Matar was carrying a stick and was taken out of the post by a police officer and shot at point blank.
Early Sunday morning, police raided Matar’s eastern Jerusalem home, arresting four members of his family, identified by Maan as his brother, parents, and uncle.
פיגוע הדקירה בירושלים: כוחות משטרה פשטו על בית המחבל בשכונת ג’בל מוכאבר ועצרו 4 מבני משפחתו. בווידאו: מפקד מרחב דוד מתאר את רגעי הפיגוע pic.twitter.com/RpGXINoTXG
— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) March 13, 2017
A flag with the terrorist group Hamas’ logo was removed from the home, according to the Times of Israel.
Jerusalem is under increased security Sunday and Monday due to the Purim holiday, which is observed a day later than in the rest of the country.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
