A man in his fifties is in critical condition, while a teenager, aged 16, is in moderate-to-serious condition. The terrorist has been neutralized.
By ILANIT CHERNICKPolice collect evidence at the scene of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem's Old City.(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
"We were walking back from praying at the Western Wall when he [the terrorist] came from my right side, jumped at my brother and stabbed him in the back. The knife was full of blood."These were the words of the young man who witnesses his brother being stabbed by a terrorist on Friday morning.A 47-year-old man remains in critical condition, while a 16-year-old boy remains moderately-to-seriously wounded, following the stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday morning."He didn't say a word," the young man recalled, while speaking to the press at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. "I saw him [the terrorist] running with the knife, he just jumped at my brother... I ran up towards the police, my brother ran towards Hurva Synagogue for help. He saw a young man and asked 'Is there anything on my back?' and that's when he was told that he was full of blood."Paramedics were called to the scene within minutes and he was taken to hospital.Following the attack, President Reuven Rivlin said, that "We are praying for the recovery of those injured in this morning's stabbing attack in #Jerusalem. I am with the families who are at their dear ones' sides in hospital in these difficult hours.""We will not be deterred by this despicable terror that seeks to cut short life, and its perpetrators and their accomplices will face the full force of the law," he said.Earlier in the day, Israel Police spokesman Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld told The Jerusalem Post that a "terrorist stabbed one person at Damascus Gate, critically injuring him, and made his way into the Old City and stabbed a second person inside injuring him moderately.""The terrorist also attempted to stab a police officer. The terrorist was then shot by police forces," Rosenfeld said.He added that police were investigating where the terrorist came from and said that security remained heightened in and around the Old City.
Police later said that it's believed the second stabbing took place in the Arab market in the Muslim Quarter.The 19-year-old attacker, who was not an Israeli citizen, allegedly came to the Old City from the West Bank to attend Ramadan prayers on the Temple Mount as Muslims mark the last Friday of Ramadam, Mako reported. Israel Border Police guard an area in the Arab market in Jerusalem's Old City following a terrorist attack. (Israel Police)Senior MDA paramedic Moshe Cordova, who was at the scene, said that "near the Damascus Gate, I saw a man...with stab wounds to his upper body.""[The man] was vaguely conscious...I gave him primary medical treatment, which included stopping the bleeding. He was rushed into an intensive care MDA ambulance, which evacuated him Shaare Zedek Hospital in critical condition."Shaare Zedek released a statement saying that the man in critical condition, who is 47-years-old, "sustained several injuries."Trauma surgeon at Shaare Zedek, Dr Alon Schwartz, told reporters that the man was brought to the hospital in critical condition with several stab wounds to the chest, neck, head and upper body. He was first treated in the trauma unit where he was stabilized and then taken to the operating room for surgery and treatment.Schwartz said the man was stable but remained in critical condition.The second victim, a 16 year old was treated by paramedics and taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital with stab wounds to the back.Hadassah said that the teenager was "fully conscious and alert, and remained in moderate-to-serious condition."A surgeon treating the young man, Dr Michael Samer, said that he had sustained a pulmonary injury and "and has been treated accordingly."The hospital said he has since been transferred to the intensive care unit.Meanwhile, a Palestinian armed with a knife was arrested at the Qalandiya crossing on Friday morning.Israel Police said in a statement that the man, believed to be in his forties, was found with the knife hidden in his jacket.The commander of the Jerusalem District, Maj.-Gen. Doron Yedid, has instructed Border Police to intensify security checks at the Jerusalem border crossings, in order to prevent and foil further attempts by terrorist organizations to carry out terrorist attacks.Tamar Beeri contributed to this report.
