Dramatic Video Shows the Moment a Palestinian Lunges at Israeli Cop With Knife — and the Consequence of That Decision

Security camera footage emerged Monday showing the moment a Palestinian man lunged with his knife at Israeli police officers in Jerusalem over the weekend, stabbing one in the neck and another in the upper body before he was quickly shot by another officer.

The Saturday attack was the second stabbing of the day in Jerusalem, just outside the Damascus Gate of the Old City.

The video, which was circling on social media in Israel on Monday, showed the challenge for police officers operating in a crowded urban setting.

After the man started repeatedly stabbing the officer in the neck, about a dozen officers circled the 19-year-old Palestinian aiming their guns at him.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attacker was shot and killed.

One of the police officers was wounded by friendly fire, the spokesman said.

From the video, it appeared that police had been questioning several Palestinian men and checking their identity cards.

“Following the earlier terrorist attack in the area, police saw a suspicious Arab man and asked him for identification as part of the intensive police operations taking place in and around the Old City to prevent further attacks,” Rosenfeld told the Jerusalem Post.

“After handing over his ID card, the terrorist stabbed one of the officers in the neck and another one in the upper body. Police nearby shot and killed him, and a third officer was lightly wounded when he was accidentally struck by one of the bullets,” he said.

Israelis have faced days of multiple Palestinian stabbing attacks. That continued on Monday with at least two stabbing attacks reported in Jerusalem. In the morning, a Palestinian pulled a knife on police officers near the Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem. Rosenfeld said he was shot dead at the scene.

The second incident occurred near Israel police headquarters also in the capital, the police spokesman said.

On Sunday night in northern Israel, four Israelis were injured in a stabbing attack, including a 14-year-old girl. Police said the suspect in the attack was an Arab citizen of Israel.

---