The incident, captured in videos, was at least the fifth such knife attack in Jerusalem since September.
A Palestinian assailant stabbed and wounded an Israeli civilian near the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday afternoon, before approaching two Israeli police officers who fired at the attacker, knocked him to the ground, and then killed him as he lay on the road, videos of the confrontation showed. The knife attack was at least the fifth in Jerusalem since the start of September, reviving memories of 2015-16, when scores of Israelis were stabbed by Palestinians in what some called the “knife intifada,” a reference to earlier Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation. It also follows the killing of an Israeli tour guide by a Palestinian gunman last month, and a spike in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. The nature of the assailant’s death on Saturday led to accusations that the Israeli police had killed him after he was felled and incapacitated. In one video from the scene, which does not include footage of the initial attack, the stabber is seen being shot three times after dropping to the ground. The recording also appeared to show a third police officer signaling to colleagues to stop firing. The two officers, from the Israel Border Guard, were placed under investigation, the state broadcaster reported. The incident led to fears of renewed unrest in East Jerusalem, the center of one of the most intractable issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
