04-Jan-16: Knife attack in Jerusalem this evening; Arab assailant is taken alive and in custody

The attacker after being stopped
by police [Image Source]

On Sderot Haim Bar-Lev, a major Jerusalem thoroughfare along which the single route of the Jerusalem Light Rail runs, yet another Arab-on-Israeli stabbing attack occurred during this afternoon's rush hour. The assault happened close to the Light Rail stop where that road meets Shivtei Yisrael Street.

Israel National News says police officers stationed at the location noticed a male Arab who, for reasons unstated, aroused their suspicions. They approached him to ask some questions. He answered by pulling out a monstrous knife (photo here) and tried to stab them. This did not work, again for reasons not stated in the report. He fled, knife in hand, pursued by the police officers. At some point, they fired at his legs (possibly in contravention of current police orders instructing security personnel confronted by a terror act in progress to shoot to kill). Once he was wounded, they disarmed the attacker.

Along the way, a 15-year-old Israeli girl was lightly injured and a man of 29 suffered shock. (How and why is not clear.)

Magen David Adom paramedics at the scene provided first response treatment before the injured victims were taken to the nearby Hadassah Mt Scopus medical center. The shot terrorist is said to be alive at this hour and in serious condition in an unspecified hospital. At this stage, we know very little about him - other than that he is about to become a hero in Palestinian Arab society and with the blessings of the Mahmoud Abbas Fatah/PA regime.

UPDATE January 4, 2015 at 10:00 pm: Over at the Ma'an News Agency website, they describe the knife-wielding attacker ("allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli police officer") in the now-familiar doubt-casting, threat-minimizing way that is the hallmark of their brand of reportage. They say he was taken to Jerusalem's Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in moderate condition: "A spokesperson for the hospital said that he had been shot three times and was unconscious but stable."