BICOM

Muammar Ata Mahmoud, a 56-year old man from Hebron is suspected of using an axe to stab a Bolder Policeman yesterday near Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem yesterday.

The policeman was lightly wounded in his leg and taken to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital for treatment. A similar incident took place in the same location around two months ago, according to a Border Police commander. It was later revealed that Mahmoud was the convicted murderer of Israel Prize winner, historian Prof Menachem Stern in 1989, and that he was released in 2013 as part of the third tranche of convicted terrorists set free by the Israeli government as part of its negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

A few hours after this incident, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a Border Police jeep in the A-Tur neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. The vehicle caught fire and one of the soldiers inside was later taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

Following the incident, youths began throwing rocks at security personnel who arrived on the scene. The situation in Jerusalem has become increasingly volatile in recent months. This has manifested itself through violent clashes between police and youths, as well as through attacks such as the stabbing at Damascus gate. Israel’s Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Police encounter significant difficulties in their efforts to prevent such ‘lone wolf’ attacks.