JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian man stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli Border Police officer in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian stabbed the officer outside the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday morning. The officer shot and seriously injured his assailant before collapsing, according to Israeli news reports.

The attacker stabbed the officer in the neck and the upper body. The officer was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in serious to critical condition. The attacker was taken to the Hadassah Medical Center – Ein Kerem in critical condition and was taken into surgery.

The attacker was identified as an 18-year-old Palestinian from Hebron who had entered Israel from the West Bank illegally.

The stabbing attack comes two days after an Israeli man was killed and a second injured in a point blank shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Dolev.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in a statement issued after the attack commended the officer for his quick action in subduing the terrorist and called on Israelis to support the beleaguered city.

“We must continue our daily routines,” Barkat said. “I call on all residents of the State of Israel to continue visiting Jerusalem and strengthen it.”

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