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Photo:
Magen David Adom medics arrive at the scene of the stabbing in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood, May 10, 2016. Credit: Magen David Adom Published by Haaretz

A woman arrives at the hospital after being wounded in Jerusalem, May 10, 2016. Credit: Emil Salman Published by Haaretz

Scene: Published by Maan News
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by Nir Hasson for Haaretz

Two elderly women have been stabbed in what the police are calling a terror attack in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.

The two suspects arrested in the wake of the attack were subsequently released, Israel Police announced on Tuesday.

According to police, five women aged in their 70s had gone for a walk in the neighborhood, also known as East Talpiot, on Tuesday morning when they were attacked by two masked individuals.

One of the women sustained stab wounds to her limbs and upper body, while the other sustained wounds to her upper body.

The assailants fled the scene in what appeared to be the direction of neighboring Jabal Mukaber and police opened a chase, erecting road blocks in the city. Two suspects were arrested, but they were released after a thorough investigation of them removed all suspicion that they had been involved in the attack, the police spokesman's office announced.

Police are still searching intensively for the assailants, the office added.

Medics who arrived at the scene reported that the women were fully conscious and in light to moderate condition. They were evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

This is a developing story.
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Two elderly Israeli women were reportedly stabbed in an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, Israeli police said.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said in a statement that five elderly Israelis were hiking in a park in the settlement of East Talpiyot on Tuesday morning when they were attacked by two masked individuals who fled the scene.

A spokeswoman for the Shaare Zedek Medical Center said that two women in their 80s were being treated in the trauma unit, with one suffering from wounds in the upper back. She added that both were in moderate but stable condition.

Two suspects were detained in the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabbir in connection to the attacks, but subsequently released in the early evening, al-Samri said, adding that investigations by Israeli police were ongoing.

More than 200 Palestinians and almost 30 Israelis have been killed since October, although the number of Palestinian and Israeli deaths saw a dramatic drop over the last two months, with Israeli leadership suggesting its severe security measures were responsible for the emerging trend.

However, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found in a poll last month that support for stabbing attacks had seen a decline in the West Bank in recent months -- "due, it seems, to a rising perception in its inefficacy."