Julia Frankel
AP / September 6, 2023
JERUSALEM – A Palestinian youth stabbed two people, moderately wounding one of them, in an attack Wednesday outside a main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, authorities said.
Israeli police said the teen carried out the attack near Jaffa Gate after getting off a bus. The suspect, a 17-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem, was caught and arrested after a short chase. His name was not immediately released.
Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center said a 56-year-old man was being treated for stab wounds to his face, neck and hand. Dr. Shaden Salameh-Youssef, head of the emergency department at the hospital’s Mount Scopus branch, said the man was moderately wounded but awake and in stable condition.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said a 17-year-old boy was slightly injured with a stabbing wound in the stomach. He was hospitalized.
Jaffa Gate is one of the main entrances to the Old City, flanking the Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters, and is typically crowded with tourists.
The Old City, the emotional epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is a frequent flashpoint of violence,
Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with its holy sites to the three monotheistic faiths, in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it in a move not recognized by most of the international community.
The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state that would include the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas also captured in 1967.
Israel considers the whole city to be its capital.
The attack occurred during one of the worst bouts of violence in the West Bank and east Jerusalem over the past 20 years. Over 180 Palestinians have been killed this year, with nearly half of them affiliated with militant groups. Israel says most of those killed were militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting Israeli military incursions as well as people not involved in the confrontations have also died. More than 30 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
