A young Palestinian stabbed and injured an Israeli guard at a light rail station in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel, before being injured by other guards who opened fire, Israeli police announced Thursday.
A 19-year-old East Jerusalem resident committed “a stabbing attack” at the Givat Hamivtar light rail station in northern Jerusalem, police said in a statement.
The assailant was “neutralized a few seconds after the attack by two guards who opened fire,” police added. Seriously injured, he was arrested by the police and received treatment, according to the same source.
Hadassah Hospital said it was treating the guard who was victim of the attack for hand injuries.
Already on Thursday, a 38-year-old Palestinian living in the occupied West Bank crashed his car into a guard at the Qalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem, lightly injuring him, before being arrested, according to police.
Violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified since the start of the year, particularly in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
At least 238 Palestinians have been killed since January 1, as well as 28 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
These statistics include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians including minors, and on the Israeli side, the majority of civilians including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.
In recent days, violence has also broken out in the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas since 2007, where Palestinians have organized demonstrations punctuated by incidents along the barrier erected by Israel around this territory.
Following these incidents, the Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which was to reopen on Monday, remained closed, preventing thousands of Palestinian workers from going to their workplace.
On Thursday, a Palestinian man was seriously injured by an Israeli gunman after opening fire on soldiers, the Gaza Health Ministry and the Israeli army announced.
21/09/2023 22:47:52 - Jerusalem (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
