WATCH: Newly-arrested Arab suspect seen stabbing police in dramatic footage
Shin Bet: Jerusalem resident Musa Ajlouni, 21, confessed to attack, saying he wanted to kill police officers
By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
An Arab Jerusalem resident was arrested while hiding in Ramallah earlier this month after allegedly stabbing two Border Police officers in the Old City last December, police announced Sunday.Musa Ajlouni, 21, was taken into custody following a manhunt by Border Police, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the IDF.According to police, on December 26 Ajlouni stabbed the two officers by Lions’ Gate at approximately 6:30 a.m. as thousands of Muslims exited the Temple Mount following Friday morning prayers.One 19-year-old officer was stabbed in the neck, and a 35-year-old officer was stabbed in the arm, police said. Both were given first aid for their light wounds by Magen David Adom paramedics and transferred to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem for treatment.Police said Ajlouni, an Old City resident with a prison record, was arrested by a SWAT team on January 1 in Ramallah, where he sought refuge.During subsequent questioning by Shin Bet interrogators, he admitted that he planned to kill a police officer on the day of the attack, according to police.Also on Sunday, the Jerusalem District Court announced an indictment was issued against Hamza Gabar, a 27-year-old Atarot resident, for throwing firebombs at police during multiple riots over the past several years.According to the indictment, Gabar took part in riots from 2012 up to a few months ago. Gabar is accused of throwing a firebomb at soldiers in one of the riots, setting one of the officer’s pants on fire.Gabar has been charged with throwing rocks at, and firebombing, a military jeep, shattering one of its windows and wounding the driver during a September riot, according to the indictment.In November, the indictment stated, Gabar attempted to create a terrorist cell in Jerusalem.