Two Palestinians from Qalandiya were killed after carrying out a stabbing attack at the Jaffa Gate of East Jerusalem’s Old City that left three Israelis injured, Israeli police said.
Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told Ma’an that Israeli forces present in the area at the time opened fire on the Palestinians during the attack.
Two Israelis were seriously injured and one moderately, according to police spokesperson Luba al-Samri, who added that one of the three was likely injured by live fire when border guards opened fire on the attackers.
The injured were taken to nearby hospitals Shaare Zedek and Hadassah, the spokesperson added.
Israeli border guards deployed in the area at the time of the attack said they “noticed people running in panic and saw two ‘terrorists’ carrying knives and stabbing a man,” al-Samri said.
One Palestinian was killed on scene, and the Ein Kerem branch of Hadassah hospital confirmed that the second died shortly after arriving to the hospital.
The Palestinians were identified as Issa Assaf and Anan Abu Habsa from Qalandiya in the occupied West Bank. The area has recently been site to heightened tensions, with two Palestinians killed in the Qalandiya refugee camp last week after attempting to run over Israeli soldiers present in the camp during a predawn arrest raid.
The Jaffa Gate area –the site of Wednesday’s attack and the most commonly-used entrance into the Old City by Jewish Israelis and tourists — was closed by Israeli Border Police following the attack, witnesses in the area said.
The Damascus Gate located nearby was also closed.
The incident marks the fourth in Jerusalem this month that resulted in the death of a Palestinian who attacked and injured Israelis.
Nearly 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military forces and settlers since violence increased at the beginning of October. Nineteen Israelis were killed in attacks by Palestinian individuals during the same time period.
– Read more: 2 Palestinians Killed, 3 Israelis Injured in Jerusalem Old City Attack – Maan
