Human Rights Voices

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Palestinian Authority/Gaza, December 23, 2015

Three Wounded, One Critically, in Jerusalem Stabbing

Original source

The Times of Israel

Three Israelis were wounded in a stabbing attack Wednesday at the Old City's Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. Magen David Adom paramedics said they treated one critically wounded victim and two who were in serious condition.

The attack was carried out by two Palestinian stabbers, both of whom were shot by policewomen at the scene. One of them was killed immediately and the other later succumbed to his wounds, police and paramedics said.

Police said one of the Israeli victims may have been injured by gunfire when security forces opened fire at the stabbers. Paramedic Aharon Adler, who treated victims at the scene, later confirmed that the casualty whose condition was described as critical was indeed hit by police gunfire.

Paramedics treated him at the scene, and then evacuated him to the city's Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he was taken directly to the operating room. The other victims were evacuated to Shaare Zedek and Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem.

Witnesses said one of the victims struggled with his stabber on the ground and was stabbed multiple times.

"Two people were struggling and at first I thought it was a game," Yael, an eyewitness, told Israel Radio. "I saw [the attacker] trying to stab [his victim] with all his might.

"I saw the victim try to get away from him, but he couldn't," she added.

Palestinian media identified the attackers as Anan Abu Habsah and Issa Assaf from Qalandia.

Law enforcement officials could not confirm the identities of the two stabbers, as the pair were not carrying IDs or other documents, a police spokeswoman said.

A video uploaded to YouTube by daily Haaretz after the stabbing appeared to show bystanders beating the injured terror suspects lying prone on the ground.

In the video, one Jewish man is seen kicking something, likely one of the Palestinian men who were shot by police, as officers make feeble attempts to prevent bystanders from approaching.

The Old City of Jerusalem has seen multiple stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians and security personnel in recent months, although most have been around the Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the Old City's Muslim Quarter.

Over 20 people have been killed by Palestinian attackers in the recent wave of violence in Israel and the West Bank, which broke out near the beginning of the Jewish new year in September.

Some 100 Palestinians have been killed. Many of them were targeted by security forces as they carried out attacks, while others were killed during clashes in the West Bank and along the Gaza border.