JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian man stabbed and seriously injured a security guard in Jerusalem at the city’s central bus station.
The apparent terror attack Sunday came as Palestinians continued to protest against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, clashing violently with security forces.
On Saturday evening, the Palestinian man wrote on Facebook: “For Allah, we must boost Jerusalem’s status, restore religion’s glory and sanctify Al-Aqsa, and the blood will flow from us,” Ynet reported.
The man has no ties to terrorist groups and committed the attack as a “lone wolf,” according to Hebrew media reports.
The guard was reportedly checking the belongings of people before they entered the bus station, which is routine. He reportedly was inspecting the Palestinian man’s backpack when the terrorist pulled out a knife and stabbed the guard in the chest.
The guard, in his 30s, arrived at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in critical condition, Haaretz reported. It was later reported that the knife actually hit his heart, and that he remains unconscious and breathing with the aid of a respirator.
The terrorist, a 24-year old from the Palestinian West Bank city Nablus, was chased and tackled by a police officer and civilian bystanders and held until security forces arrested him and took him away for questioning.
The man had a permit to work in the seam zone of the West Bank — between the security barrier and Israel’s internationally recognized border — but not further west, according to the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet.
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