The Palestinian assailant was shot dead after he stabbed the Border Police guards in Jerusalem’s Old City.
By Erin Viner
A 19-year-old female Border Police officer has emerged as a hero, having likely saved her partner’s life in the attack, which occurred yesterday afternoon around 5:30 PM near the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva (Jewish seminary).
Graphic video released by police shows the swift reaction by the young officer after her colleague, 20, was suddenly stabbed by a knife-wielding Palestinian. She was immediately fought off the assailant and succeeded in pinning him against a wall, despite being repeatedly stabbed before he was ultimately shot by a civilian passerby.
Both officers were fully conscious and evacuated to hospital with stab wounds to the head. The female officer was listed as in light-to-moderate condition, while her partner’s injuries were considered only “light.”
The terrorist has been identified as 16-year-old Amr Abu-Assab. The resident of Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhood of Issawiya was pronounced dead at the scene. Prior to the terror attack, police said he posted “remember me well” on social media.
The Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza claimed Abu-Assab as a member and hailed the attack, which occurred as the Israeli officers backs were turned, as a “heroic commando operation.” “This is the latest confirmation that our people’s revolution against the occupation will continue until the occupier is swept away,” said a spokesperson for the terror group, Hazim Qasim.
Several suspects – including the attacker’s parents – were detained for questioning on suspicion of involvement in the stabbing during subsequent police raids in the Old City and Issawiya.
Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman also conducted a situational assessment at the site of the incident.
The Old City has been a frequent flashpoint of Arab violence against Israelis.
Israel regards all of Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish People, while Palestinians demand the eastern sector as capital of a state they seek in Gaza and the West Bank.
Clashes between Islamists and Jerusalem police during observance of Ramadan last April ignited into a larger conflict with Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups the following month, known as Operation Guardian of the Walls.