Palestinian assailant stabs Israeli police officer in head with a screwdriver

Marcy Oster
Published December 14, 2016

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israel Police officer was stabbed in the head by a Palestinian assailant in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

A boy, 12, from eastern Jerusalem, also said he was injured in the head by the assailant although it is not clear to police how it happened. He was also transported to a Jerusalem hospital.

The assailant, a Palestinian man, 21, from the village of Beit Surik north of Jerusalem, was shot and critically wounded in the early Wednesday afternoon attack.  He was taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus for treatment, where he later died of his injuries.

The man reportedly approached a group of police officer who were at the Old City’s  Lions’ Gate. He pulled out a screwdriver and started to attack one of the officers, according to police.

The stabbing attack comes a day after a Palestinian woman from eastern Jerusalem was arrested after attempting to run over security forces at a West Bank checkpoint.