17-Aug-17: A man with a knife is intercepted today en route to downtown Jerusalem

Israel National News is reporting the interception of a terror-minded, armed Palestinian Arab today on his way to the center of Jerusalem and an appointment with destiny:

Police captured an Arab suspect from Shuafat neighborhood in northeastern Jerusalem as he made his way to the center of town with a concealed knife, following a tip by an Arab woman who observed him with the weapon.
The woman, also a resident of Shuafat, reportedly witnessed the suspect placing a sharp object in his bag before boarding a bus towards downtown Jerusalem.
After witnessing this, the woman contacted police stationed near the entrance of Shuafat, informing them of the suspect’s concealed weapon.
Israel Police officers and a unit of Border Police officers tracked down the suspect’s bus based on the woman’s tip, and found a knife inside of a bag which had been concealed underneath the suspect’s bus seat.
The suspect, a man in his 20s, was arrested and taken for interrogation.

Though the report says the would-be attacker took a bus, the fact is that getting into the center of the capital from Shuafat on Jerusalem's north side which used to be a complicated task until the Jerusalem Light Rail - routinely pelted with rocks in and around Shuafat - began operating on August 19, 2011, six years ago almost to the day, is now a breeze. The large numbers of Arabs shopping and strolling in the center of Jerusalem testify to its positive impact.

If more details emerge of the thwarted attack we will report them here.