Security guard shot near Jerusalem

Guard moderately wounded near Atarot; Martyrs Brigades say responsible.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
al aksa man gun 298.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
al aksa man gun 298.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
An Israeli security guard overseeing the construction of the separation barrier was shot and moderately wounded Tuesday on the outskirts of Jerusalem, police and rescue officials said. The late-afternoon shooting attack took place near the Atarot checkpoint just north of the city in the West Bank, in an area where the barrier is under construction. The security guard was rushed to Hadassah-University Hospital at Ein Kerem after receiving initial medical treatment on the scene. News of the attack, which was first reported by Magen David Adom rescue officials, was withheld for nearly an hour by police due to an internal police debate whether the area was in the jurisdiction of Jerusalem or West Bank police. The shooting attack came less than 48 hours after a 36-year-old Jerusalem Arab was shot dead in a separate drive-by shooting attack in the area. In the past, Palestinian terrorists have mistakenly attacked Arabs traveling in cars with Israeli license plates. The suspected Palestinian assailants in both attacks fled the scene.