Jerusalem: Israeli soldier and civilian stabbed, attacker killed by police at the scene

Two Israeli men in their 20s were stabbed on May 24, sustaining moderate and severe injuries, Israel's national emergency medical service Magen David Adom (MDA) informed. In a Twitter post, the MDA said that the stabbing attack took place near the Jerusalem light rail station, which is located near the Israel Police’s national headquarters. The two men, one of them a soldier, were taken to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus for treatment, and the suspected assailant was shot and neutralised by officers at the scene, Times of Israel reported.

In a social media statement, the MDA Paramedic Sigalit Mizrachi said, "When we arrived at the scene, we saw 2 victims, conscious, with stab wounds to their upper bodies. We gave them life-saving medical treatment. We quickly evacuated them to hospital, one injured severely and one in light condition”. 

A video on social media appeared to show the knifeman lying motionless and covered with a sheet on the ground at a street intersection. Another clip showed the soldier, wearing an Israeli air force uniform, with a knife lodged in his back as he kneeled on the ground and received treatment from medics. It is worth mentioning that the incident occurred near the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where the potential evictions of Palestinian families drew mass protests and helped spark 11 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.

Aftermath of ceasefire 

Meanwhile, the incident comes as Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire last week. The tensions began in east Jerusalem earlier this month when Palestinians protested attempts by settlers to forcibly evict a number of Palestinian families from their homes and Israeli police measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a frequent flashpoint located on a mount in the Old City revered by Muslims and Jews. However, on Saturday, the Gaza Strip, most of which has been reduced to rubbles by the Israeli airstrikes, saw Palestinians scrounging their belongings in the heaps of brick and mortar as lives returned back to the war zone. 

As the cease-fire appeared to be holding, people in Gaza were cleaning up shops and businesses while displaced families were returning home. Some of the initial assessments of what was damaged in Gaza are underway. Thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv, calling for coexistence between Jews and Arabs, the Associated Press reported. 

Image: Twitter/Unsplash