Palestinian woman pulls knife at West Bank checkpoint and is killed by police

Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian woman was shot and killed at a West Bank checkpoint after she pulled out a knife and tried to stab an Israeli police officer.

The woman killed at the Qalandiya checkpoint in northern Jerusalem was identified as Alaa Wahdan, 28, from the nearby Qalandiya refugee camp, Haaretz reported. The Palestinian Maan news agency reported that the woman was 50.

She entered a vehicle lane at the checkpoint and ignored calls from police to halt.

Video of the incident was later posted on social media.

“Security personnel who saw that she was approaching them performed the proper arrest procedures and called for her to stop. She did not respond to their calls and took out a knife. As a result of this, a shot was fired at her leg and she was injured,” police said in a statement published in Times of Israel.

The woman was pronounced dead at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, TOI reported citing the medical center.