Description

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian youth was detained Monday morning for allegedly stabbing and lightly injuring an ultra-Orthodox Israeli on Haneviim Street (Street of Prophets) in central Jerusalem outside of Damascus gate.

Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a statement that Israeli border police already deployed around Damascus Gate due to heightened security in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City heard a man shouting for help. When they approached Haneviim Street they saw a Palestinian stab a religious Israeli man.

The suspect allegedly threw the knife away and attempted to flee the scene. Israeli police chased and apprehended the youth without shooting him, al-Samri added.

Al-Samri identified the suspect as a 20-year-old Palestinian from the village of Abu Dis in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem. The youth was taken in by Israeli police for interrogation.

Paramedics treated the Israeli for light injuries on the scene before transferring him to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He was identified by Israeli media as a 30-year-old ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student.

More than 200 Palestinians and almost 30 Israelis have been killed since a wave of violence began in October, characterized by a number of small-scale Palestinian attacks and alleged attacks against mainly Israeli military targets.

The number of Palestinian and Israeli deaths saw a dramatic drop over the last two months, with the Israeli leadership suggesting its severe security measures are 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."