Police officer injured by Arab attacker near Damascus Gate; officer manages to fatally wound terrorist.

A border policeman has been left seriously wounded after being stabbed by an Arab terrorist in Jerusalem, close to the Old City’s Damascus Gate.

Security forces and paramedics are already at the scene.

The victim, aged 20, is in critical condition and fighting for his life, with stab wounds to his neck. Paramedics performed emergency first aid at the scene, and then transferred him to Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek hospital for further treatment.

The terrorist was transferred to Hadassah hospital in critical condition, and died of his wounds shortly afterwards. He has been identified as an 18-year-old resident of Judea and Samaria.

Police say the victim managed to fire at the terrorist despite his severe injuries, “neutralizing” his attacker. According to paramedics the terrorist is in serious condition with at least one gunshot wound to his upper body.

Israel Police foreign press spokesman Micky Rosenfeld spoke to Arutz Sheva about the attack Sunday afternoon.

According to a statement by the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, “At 10:36 MDA… received a report of two wounded… as a result of a stabbing close to Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.”

“MDA medics and paramedics are providing medical care at the scene,” it added.

Investigations begin

Police officers have flocked to the scene, along with Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) agents, to investigate the incident.

Initial estimates point to “nationalistic motivations” – i.e. a terror attack – but it is unknown whether the terrorist was a “lone wolf” or acting on behalf of an organization.

Jerusalem District Commander Moshe Edri has also arrived at the scene.

“We’ll assess the situation in light of all possible scenarios,” Edri said. “Police details to the area will be reinforced as needed.”

“Any incident where police officers or civilians are injured should end in the assassination of the terrorist,” he added.

The incident is the second terrorist attack in the past 48 hours. On Friday afternoon, two Israeli hikers were gunned down by an Arab terrorist near the town of Dolev in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem.

One of the victims, 25-year-old Danny Gonen of Lod, central Israel, died of his wounds shortly after. The second victim, a friend of Gonen’s also from Lod, was hospitalized with light-to-moderate gunshot wounds to his limbs.

In that attack, the two men had just left a natural spring in the area, and had driven around 300 meters before a Palestinian Arab man flagged them down, ostensibly asking for their assistance. As soon as they stopped, the terrorist shot them at point-blank range and escaped to a nearby Arab village.