Terror attack thwarted at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate for third straight day

The police commander in charge of the post said that "the alertness and operational skills of the officers prevented an attack on security forces and innocent bystanders."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Knife found on suspect at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem‏ (photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
Knife found on suspect at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem‏
(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
A potential stabbing attack was thwarted at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, according to police. The incident marked the third attempted attack thwarted by police in the area in the past three days.
Police stationed in the area identified a suspicious Arab man and approached him to perform a security check. A bodily search of the suspect uncovered a knife hidden up the sleeve of his shirt.
Police confiscated the knife and arrested the suspect, a 26-year-old from the Jenin area in the northern West Bank.
The police commander in charge of the post said that "the alertness and operational skills of the officers prevented an attack on security forces and innocent bystanders."
On Monday afternoon, police thwarted a stabbing attack by a female teenaged Arab assailant near Damascus Gate.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., police patrolling the east Jerusalem entrance to the Old City spotted the unidentified suspect behaving suspiciously and took action, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
“An officer stationed by Damascus Gate approached the female Arab teenager and asked her for identification, at which time she pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the officer,” Rosenfeld said minutes after the attack.
“Police were able to push her back and disarm her without anyone being injured. After searching her bag, a second knife was found,” he said.
On Sunday night, shortly after 11 p.m., two Palestinian terrorists from the West Bank armed with improvised automatic weapons were shot dead in the same area after one of them fired on police personnel.
“After the terrorists arrived near Damascus Gate, a police officer made eye contact with one of the suspects who was carrying a large white bag and proceeded to pull him over to ask him for his identification and search the bag for weapons,” said Rosenfeld.
“The terrorist opened the bag and pulled out an improvised automatic weapon and at that point the officer opened fire and killed him. The second terrorist then opened fire on police from 100 meters away, and units in the area responded by opening fire and killing him.”
Daniel K. Eisenbud contributed to this report.