Israeli police shoot dead Palestinian knifeman after attack
Xinhua, May 13, 2017 Adjust font size:
Israeli police said that a Palestinian man was shot dead after he stabbed and moderately injured a police officer in East Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri that the assailant approached a policeman who was patrolling the Shalshelet street, near the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque, pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
In response, the wounded policeman shot the stabber and "neutralized" him, Samri said.
A later police statement confirmed that the assailant, whose identity was not disclosed, had been killed.
A wave of Palestinian stabbing, shooting, and car-ramming attacks claimed the lives of 41 Israelis, two U.S. nationals, and a British tourist since mid-September 2015.
In the same period, Israeli security forces and civilians killed at least 245 Palestinians amidst attacks or alleged attacks.
Israel accuses the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest.
The Palestinians say it is the result of 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, home to more than 5 million Palestinians. Endit