2 female teen terrorists attack Jewish and Palestinian men with scissors outside Jerusalem shuk
1 terrorist shot dead, 1 critically wounded; Men sustain light wounds to head and hand.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDUpdated: NOVEMBER 24, 2015 05:54Scene of stabbing attack in Jerusalem
One teenaged girl Palestinian terrorist is dead, while her fellow female teen accomplice remains in critical condition, after being shot moments after stabbing a 70-year-old Arab man in the head with scissors in the heart of downtown Jerusalem on Monday morning.A 27-year-old Israeli security guard who came to the Palestinian man’s rescue sustained light wounds to his hand when hit by police shooting at the assailants.A small puddle of blood on Jaffa Road, a few meters outside the popular Mahaneh Yehuda Market, marked the scene of the attack, where dozens of police and medical personnel worked feverishly to evacuate the wounded and secure the area.Light rail cars, which run past the bustling thoroughfare, came to a halt in both directions as hundreds of concerned bystanders and journalists looked on from behind police lines.At 11:30 a.m., roughly 15 minutes following the attack, the two unidentified Palestinian teens, ages 14 and 16, carried out the stabbing while thousands of pedestrians were shopping in the market or walking down Jaffa Road, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.“Two female terrorists carried out the stabbing using scissors,” he said. “Both of the terrorists were shot by police officers who responded at the scene; one of them was killed and the other one was taken to the hospital.”The unidentified 70-yearold Palestinian man, from Bethlehem, and the unidentified guard were treated at the scene for light wounds by Magen David Adom paramedics before being transferred to an area hospital.Black and white CCTV footage of the attack released to the media shows the two female Palestinian assailants wildly stabbing the elderly Palestinian man in the head and then charge a police officer, who shot them.Both terrorists ignored repeated warnings from the officer to drop their weapons.Rosenfeld said the area was immediately cordoned off, as a forensics team and multiple police units analyzed the chaotic scene while a police helicopter flew overhead.
He added that heightened security is continuing across the capital to prevent other attacks from taking place.United Hatzalah of Israel volunteer paramedic Yehuda Goldberg said he treated both victims.“Both were lightly wounded and transferred to the hospital, and we treated about 15 witnesses for shock,” he said. “One of the terrorists was shot dead, and the other was critically wounded and is on the way to the hospital.”The Palestinian man targeted by the assailants was apparently mistaken as a Jew.The incident was the first terrorist attack perpetrated in the capital in nearly two weeks, and followed three other assaults in the West Bank the day before, including one at Gush Etzion junction that left Hadar Buchris, 21, dead.Citing the rapid succession of attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, MKs across party lines issued sharply-worded statements on Monday, demanding that the government adopt a more rigorous deterrent, including home demolitions and deportations, to prevent future attacks.“We are facing one attack after another,” said Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, of the right-wing Jewish Home Party.“We must force the will of terrorists, making them understand that it is not worth it to go out of their homes to harm civilians and soldiers. I reiterate that only the demolition of terrorists’ homes immediately after a terrorist attack is carried out, and sending the whole family out of the country, will prevent the next attack.”MK Eyal Ben-Reuven, of the center-left Zionist Union Party, also called on lawmakers to take more aggressive action.“The wave of terrorism is getting worse,” he said. “We are coming very close to the point where we will have no choice but to carry out a serious and far-reaching campaign to make it clear to the Palestinian leadership what the price of terrorism is.”Ben-Reuven added that it is incumbent upon the government to “make it clear to the Palestinians that Israel will not tolerate terrorism.”“It is up to us to spit out the terrorists from within our midst,” he continued. “I am fully reliant on the security establishment to know how, when, and where to act.”In the meantime, Hamas praised the series of attacks as “heroic.”