Jewish teen stabs Arab man in Jerusalem
Arab suffers moderate abdomen wounds, evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem; assailant escapes, later turns himself in
A 42-year-old Arab man sustained moderate injuries on Thursday after being stabbed on Levy Eshkol Street in Jerusalem. The circumstances of the incident remain unclear.
A 16-year-old Jewish boy suspected of stabbing the Arab fled the scene, but later turned himself in to the police. During his interrogation the teen said he was attacked by the Arab.
At around 1:10 pm police received a report of a stabbing attack near René Cassin High School in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood. Magen David Adom paramedics who were dispatched to the scene administered first aid to the Arab, who suffered injuries to his abdomen.
The man was later evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in the capital, while police forces began combing the area in search of the perpetrator.
According to one of the paramedics, the Arab said he was waiting for a bus when he was attacked.
Earlier, Chief Superintendent Eli Kazri, commander of the Jerusalem police station, said the Arab suffered one stab wound to the abdomen. He said that according to the initial investigation, the assailant is a Jewish man who was wearing a kippah. He fled to the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood, said Kazri.
The police official said the two were not acquaintances and that the Arab, a resident of a village located outside Jerusalem, did not have a criminal record.
Over the past few months Jerusalem has seen a number of incidents in which local Arabs were assaulted by Jews. The attacks were not all nationalistically-motivated.
Some two months ago a Jewish man opened fire on two Arabs at the Givati parking lot in the Old City. The Arabs, residents of east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood, were lightly wounded.
The assailant, who was apprehended near the Dung Gate, told investigators that he had opened fire after feeling threatened.
In June, 48-year-old Jerusalem resident Yoel Almog Dzhanashvili shot and killed 33-year-old Amjad Abu Khader of the Shuafat neighborhood.
According to the indictment, Dzhanashvili arrived at Tzahal Sqaure near Jerusalem's Old City and opened fire at Abu Khader. According to his testimony, after shooting Abu Khader Dzhanashvili made his way to the Jewish Quarter to pray, and a few hours later fired gunshots towards two other people. One of the passersby, a Jew, was seriously injured. The other man was not hurt.
Ronen Medzini and Aviad Glickman contributed to the report
