Two Israel Police officers were injured in a stabbing attack Sunday in east Jerusalem’s Ras al-Amud neighborhood, Israel Police announced. Police forces entered the neighborhood following reports of a torched car.
One police officer, around 20 years old, suffered a stab wound to the upper body. He was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The officer suffered a slight injury to the hand but received treatment at the scene.
Two suspects were arrested in connection to the attack, but one suspected attacker was not initially apprehended and has fled. According to Israeli media, the suspect was seen fleeing into Jerusalem’s Old City. After three hours of searches, police apprehended the man, a resident of Jebl Mukaber at the home of a relative of his.
Clashes between residents of the predominantly Arab neighborhood and police developed on the spot, with two residents getting injured as a result, according to KAN.
חשד לפיגוע דקירה בשכונת ראס אל עמוד בירושלים: עימותים בין תושבים למשטרה התפתחו במקום, 2 תושבים ערבים נפצעו קל@SuleimanMas1 @coren_ido pic.twitter.com/aCEdOmA6jC
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 20, 2022
Two suspects were arrested in connection to the attack, but one suspected attacker who fled was not apprehended. According to Israeli media, the suspect was seen fleeing into Jerusalem’s Old City. As of press time, police forces were at the scene and continuing to search for the suspect.
The stabbing comes amid an ongoing uptick of similar incidents in the city over the past few weeks.
On Saturday, a 35-year-old man was stabbed and lightly wounded on Hebron Road near the First Station in Jerusalem in an apparent terrorist attack.
The man was attacked while jogging, police said. He and other civilians nearby tussled with the attacker, a 28-year-old Palestinian from the nearby Abu Tor neighborhood, until police arrived at the scene.
The attacker moved toward the officers, ignoring their warnings when he was then shot in the leg and was seriously injured, according to an MDA paramedic.
On Friday, the Israel Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced that it had uncovered a Hamas cell that has been operating in east Jerusalem in recent years.
On March 6, a terrorist stabbed and lightly injured one police officer and moderately injured another at the Bab al-Huta section of Jerusalem’s Old City before the suspect was shot and killed by officers.
Another two officers were stabbed near the Temple Mount the next day. Hamas claimed responsibility for the second stabbing.
“The stabbing attacks in the last few days are another example of how terrorists and extremists will continue to undermine our attempts to celebrate springtime holidays for the first time in two years without restrictions,” Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev said in a statement.