Terror Strikes in Jerusalem for the Second Time in a Week

April 3, 2017

by: Ilse Posselt

Monday, 03 April 2017 | Israeli security forces have stepped up their levels of alertness ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday as Palestinian terrorists struck twice in Jerusalem over the past week.

On Saturday afternoon a knife-wielding Palestinian assailant stabbed two Jewish teenagers in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter. The attacker fled the scene, with Israeli security forces giving chase. After seeking refuge in a nearby residence, the terrorist attacked and stabbed a border policeman, who shot and killed the assailant.

The three wounded Israelis were treated on the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital, suffering light to moderate wounds.

Commenting on the attack shortly after it occurred, police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said, “Police units and Border Police [officers] quickly searched the area and received intelligence that the terrorist was heading toward a house in the Muslim Quarter. Police units entered the building and the attacker stabbed one of the officers. The other officer responded and shot the terrorist.”

The Palestinian terrorist was later identified as 17-year-old Ahmad Zahlr Jazal from a village near Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria. Moments before setting out to kill, a smiling Jazal posed for a picture on the steps of the Temple Mount’s Dome of the Rock. Following the attack, Jazal’s photograph was shared widely on social media, with Palestinians hailing the young terrorist as a hero. Hamas praised Jazal as a “martyr” and called his actions “heroic.”

Clashes broke out shortly after the attack between police and Palestinians throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Police were forced to close some of the gates to the Old City and dispersed the rioters with tear gas.

Saturday’s incident marked the second terror attack in Jerusalem over the past week. On Wednesday a Palestinian woman tried to stab Israeli police officers near the Old City’s Damascus Gate. The officers managed to thwart the attack and neutralized the woman. Over the past year and a half, the Old City of Jerusalem, and particularly the Damascus Gate, has proven a popular spot for Palestinian terrorists to strike, The Times of Israel says.

Israeli security forces have raised their level of alertness ahead of the upcoming Passover holidays, which start on the eve of 10 April 2017. Additional forces have been deployed across prospective flashpoint areas, including Jerusalem’s Old City, where tensions have in the past erupted into violence during Jewish holidays, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Moreover, last week Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency) Director, Nadav Argaman, warned that Hamas will, without a doubt, try to launch terror attacks on Israel during the Passover holidays. “Our goal, of course,” he assured, “is to ensure quiet holidays for every citizen of the State of Israel.”

Over the past month, Israel has uncovered numerous Hamas terror cells operating in Israel. These cells were in various stages of planning terror attacks against the Jewish state.

Posted on April 3, 2017

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 03 April 2017)

Photo Credit: Ashernet