15-Feb-16: Capping a long day of extreme violence, an Arab-on-Israeli shooting attack in Jerusalem

From the Israeli social media, a snapshot
of one of the automatic weapons used in
tonight's shooting attack at Damascus
Gate [Image Source]

Late Sunday night, after a day of seriously violent Arab-on-Israeli attacks [see "14-Feb-16: Sunday bloody Sunday"], a pair of Palestinian Arabs armed with automatic weapons opened fire on a cluster of police officers standing at a Jerusalem Light Rail station serving the Old City of Jerusalem.

The attack, first reported around 11:00 pm, was launched at the exact spot where an earlier Palestinian Arab shooting-and-knifing attack had taken place twelve days ago. In that February 3, 2016 assault, a Border Police trainee officer, Hadar Cohen, aged just 19, was killed. [See "Palestinians Kill Israeli Officer Before Being Shot Dead", Associated Press via ABC News, February 3, 2016]

Tonight's shooting attack was directed at a group of Border Guard police officers near Damascus Gate. The gunmen had what Haaretz calls home-made Carl Gustav-style rifles.

According to Times of Israel, the officers returned fired, hitting and killing one of the gunmen immediately. They chased after the second, who fled the scene while continuing to shoot. That second attacker was soon hit and killed by police fire. There are thankfully no injuries to Israeli officers or bystanders.

The escalation in the nature and volume of Palestinian Arab attacks is a worrying development. But not necessarily for consumers of CNN's brand of news. After hundreds of knifings, vehicle rammings and shootings directed at Israeli civilians and security personnel, tonight's attack is explained this way by CNN's editors:

Israel has experienced a spate of violence since October.

Great work, guys. Analytic depth to be proud of.