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Female terrorist killed during attempted stabbing of police officers in Jerusalem

This is the fifth time in seven months that Palestinian women have carried out knife attacks.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A Palestinian woman was shot dead by police Thursday as she attempted to stab them near the Chain Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

“Today at 6:30 AM, a female terrorist came to Chain Street on her way to the Temple Mount,” said Old City police commander Nati Gur. “She aroused the suspicion of the police who were there and they approached to carry out an inspection, during which she took out a knife from her handbag and tried to stab one of them.

“Reacting quickly and with determination, they neutralized the terrorist, thereby protecting themselves and the civilians in the area.”

The woman was identified as 30-year-old Asra Hezimiya from the village of Qabatiya near Jenin. No one else was hurt in the attack. A police sapper was called to check that she was not carrying an explosive device on her body, and forces swept the area to find any possible collaborators. They also temporarily closed the gates to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to a Ynet report.

IDF forces have lately been very busy in the area of Jenin, making nightly raids to catch Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists. On Wednesday night troops killed a PIJ man who shot at them during an arrest attempt in the town of Burqin outside the Palestinian city.

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The attempted attack comes just one day after the Islamist Ra’am party, a member of the coalition, warned the government and police of violence due to what it deemed the “violation of the sanctity” of the mosque by Jews going up to the Temple Mount during the just-concluded Sukkot holiday.

It is also the fifth time in the last seven months that a Palestinian woman has attempted a stabbing attack against Jews. In February, a resident of eastern Jerusalem took out a knife at the city’s Armon Hanatziv promenade and screamed “Allahu Akbar” as she lunged at passersby. A United Hatzalah paramedic knocked the weapon out of her hand and overcame her with the help of other civilians.

In March, a pregnant terrorist tried to knife the wife of a farmer in the Benjamin region. She was released earlier this month to house arrest near Ramallah in anticipation of the upcoming birth.

In May, a 60-year-old woman approached soldiers in the Gush Etzion Junction near Jerusalem, knife in hand. After refusing to drop the weapon after repeatedly being told to do so, the men wounded her in her leg and subdued her.

Last month, a Palestinian woman tried to stab soldiers near the Yitzhar Junction in the Benjamin region. They also shot her in the leg to stop her, and then put her under arrest.