Palestinian youth arrested with concealed knife while stalking Jewish home in Old City

Arrest near Lion’s Gate, where terrorist stabbed 2 Israelis to death in October.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Updated: FEBRUARY 2, 2016 01:28
Knife found on Palestinian youth in Old City of Jerusalem, February 1 (photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Knife found on Palestinian youth in Old City of Jerusalem, February 1
(photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
A 14-year-old Palestinian boy suspected of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack against a Jewish family living near the Old City’s Muslim Quarter was arrested by police Monday morning.
Officers patrolling the area saw the suspect behaving suspiciously on Hagai Street, near the spot where a terrorist stabbed to death Rabbi Nehemia Lavie and Aharon Benita, and critically wounded Lavie’s wife and two-year-old son, last October.
“At approximately 9 a.m.
the suspect was seen walking in and around the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, adjacent to a Jewish house,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
“Police immediately approached him and carried out a search, finding a knife hidden on his body.”
After the unidentified boy was questioned, Rosenfeld said it was determined that he intended to carry out a stabbing attack on a Jewish family living in the area.
He was arrested and arraigned at Jerusalem Magistrate Court, where a judge ordered his remand, Rosenfeld said, adding that heightened security continues throughout the Old City.
On the evening of October 3, a Palestinian terrorist murdered Lavie, an Old City resident who worked at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, and Aharon Benita from Beitar Illit.
Lavie’s wife and toddler were critically wounded in the attack, while a fifth male victim, in his 20s, was lightly wounded.
The terrorist took a pistol from one of his victims and while he was firing wildly into a crowd of tourists, he was shot dead by Border Police.
Hamas subsequently issued a statement praising the killer as a “hero.”