A Palestinian man in his 20s was detained for allegedly stabbing and lightly injuring an ultra-Orthodox Israeli on Haneviim Street (Street of Prophets) in central Jerusalem.

Israeli police spokesperson, Luba al-Samri, said in a statement that Israeli border police were already deployed around Damascus Gate due to heightened security in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. It was claimed that a man was heard shouting for help. When Israeli police approached Haneviim Street they saw a Palestinian stab a religious Israeli man.

The suspect allegedly threw the knife away and attempted to flee the scene. Israeli police chased and apprehended him.

The suspect was identified as a 20-year-old Palestinian from the village of Abu Dis in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem. He was taken in by Israeli police for interrogation.

Paramedics treated the Israeli for light injuries on the scene before transferring him to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He was identified by Israeli media as a 30-year-old ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student.

There has been a wave of Palestinian attacks targeting Israeli civilians and security forces, primarily in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Since October last year, 204 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed, according to an AFP count.

However, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found in a poll last month that support for stabbing attacks had seen a decline in the West Bank in recent months, “due, it seems, to a rising perception in its inefficacy.”

(MA’AN, MEE, PC)