Illustration
Photo: Galit Kosovsky
Palestinian carrying knife captured near mall
19-year-old Palestinian arrives at entrance to Jerusalem mall, pulls knife out of his underwear; 'I came to stab Jews,' he says in interrogation
Security guards at a mall in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev thwarted a stabbing attack Saturday evening after a Palestinian pulled a knife out of his underwear.
The defense establishment currently holds 83 general warnings on plans to carry out terror attacks in Israel, 16 of them concrete warnings and most of them from the northern West Bank.
At around 9 p.m., a 19-year-old Palestinian approached the mall's entrance. He raised the suspicion of the security guards, who asked him for his identity card. He refused, pulled a 30-centimeter-long (about 12-inch-long) knife out of his underwear, and began to go wild and scream.
Police forces patrolling the area were dispatched to the mall. The police gained control of the man, who did not cause any injuries. The knife was confiscated.
The Palestinian, a Ramallah resident, said in his interrogation that he had come to stab Jews. He was taken into further interrogation at the Jerusalem Police's minority department.
On Thursday, security forces raised the alert level in the Jerusalem area after the defense establishment received information on a terrorist's plan to infiltrate the capital and carry out a terror attack. Checkpoints across the city were reinforced, as well as security checks of vehicles. The security checks were boosted also in crossings in the Jerusalem vicinity.
The alert level was lowered following an evaluation of the situation.
