Police Officer Stabbed in Terror Attack in Yerushalayim; Terrorists Repelled in Tekoa

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – A police officer was been stabbed at Yerushalayim’s Damascus Gate on Sunday evening, police said.

Initial reports say a Palestinian assailant, 19, stabbed a Border police officer at a checkpoint and was shot dead by security forces at the scene. The attacker was reportedly in the country illegally.

The officer was evacuated to Hadassah Har Hatzofim hospital in moderate condition.

Simcha Goldman, a medic with Magen Dovid Adom, said that he found the “victim lying on the steps [of the security station], having sustained stab wounds in his upper body. The officer was conscious and spoke with us as we administered first aid, including stopping of the flow of blood from his wounds. We quickly transferred him to an intensive care mobile unit which took him to the hospital.”

Shortly thereafter, at least four terrorists infiltrated the town of Tekoa in Gush Etzion, where they attempted to break into a home.

The owner of the house, alerted by his son’s cries after spotting the terrorists, shot and neutralized one, while the others fled to a nearby Arab village. The terrorist, who had been carrying a knife, was later identified as 18-year-old Beit Lehem resident Muatssem Atallah.

B’chasdei shamayim, no residents were harmed in the incident.

People living in Tekoa were told to lock themselves indoors until further notice as security forces launched a search for the other infiltrators in the area.

The incidents occurred as senior security officials were in a meeting to decide whether to launch a widespread military operation in the Jenin area in response to the ongoing terror wave, Channel 12 reports.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been holding meetings with officials, debating whether the response will include strikes in Gaza, where Hamas has been inciting attacks against Israelis and threatening another war

A decision is expected in the coming days, the network said.