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Jerusalem: Two Israelis wounded after alleged knife attack by Palestinian man

Man from West Bank shot by police after injuring two Israeli men from the ultra-Orthodox community
Israeli medics stretcher off a wounded man following a reported stabbing attack in Jerusalem on 13 September 2021 (AFP)

At least two people have been wounded in a stabbing in Jerusalem on Monday, reportedly carried out by a Palestinian assailant from the West Bank, according to Israeli police.

The man was shot by Israeli officers following the attack and is currently being treated at the scene, according to local news reports

The victims were members of the ultra-Orthodox community in their twenties. The two men were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the city for treatment, Haaretz reported.

The incident comes shortly after Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man near the city of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.

Mahmoud Bello Thawabteh, a 27-year-old resident of the town of Beit Fajjar, was injured near Gush Etzion, a major settlement between the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, official Palestinian Authority (PA) news agency Wafa reported. 

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Footage on social media showed Thawabteh lying wounded on the ground, while Israeli forces push away a paramedic who had apparently approached to help him.

He was later hospitalised at Shaare Zedek, where his condition remains unclear.

An 'escalation'

Last week, a Palestinian doctor was killed by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem, the latter claiming he had attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.

Several Palestinians were also injured during protests in West Bank towns held in solidarity with prisoners who escaped the Israeli prison of Gilboa on 6 September. 

Four of the six escapees were arrested over the weekend inside Israel. 

Doron Turgeman, the Jerusalem chief of police, said that the attack on the ultra-Orthodox men "undoubtedly represents an escalation".

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