West Bank04 September, 20262 min read
Israeli Police Kill Palestinian Near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem After Stabbing Attempt
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Palestinian youth killed by Israeli police near Damascus Gate amid heavy Old City cordon. Police say the suspect attempted stabbing; he was shot and died at the scene.
6 outlets told this the same way.
Damascus Gate shooting
Israeli occupation police shot and killed a Palestinian near Damascus Gate in occupied Jerusalem early Friday morning, then imposed a heavy military cordon around the Old City. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the Palestinian sustained critical injuries after Israeli police opened fire and was pronounced dead at the scene, while Israeli police said officers opened fire after the Palestinian attempted to stab one of their members.
Channel 12 reported that the Palestinian was 33 years old and a resident of occupied East Jerusalem, citing the Israeli police account that he attempted to stab a member of the Border Police. According to the Israeli daily Maariv, preliminary Israeli police investigations said the Palestinian arrived at the area on a motorcycle at approximately 3:45 AM, dismounted, and attempted to stab Israelis at the scene before Border Police forces arrived.
Cordon blocks dawn prayer
After the killing, Israeli occupation forces deployed large reinforcements around Damascus Gate and the surrounding areas of Jerusalem’s Old City, and Palestinian sources reported a heavy Israeli military presence and tightened restrictions. The measures hindered Palestinians attempting to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque for the dawn prayer, as Israeli forces imposed a security cordon and tightened procedures in the Damascus Gate area.
Israeli police said in a statement posted on X that the man, 33, approached a security unit in the area and attempted to stab its members, prompting officers to shoot him, and the police added that they found a knife on him. At the scene near Bab al-Nasr (Bab al-Nar) in the Old City, Jerusalem Police Chief Avshalom Bar-Dil said the officers “acted exactly as we expect them to, responding quickly and decisively,” according to Israeli media.
West Bank tensions
The killing came amid intensified Israeli military and settler violence across occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, with Israeli occupation forces continuing raids, arrests and military incursions across Palestinian communities. Palestine Chronicle also said earlier this week Israeli occupation forces killed two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, in Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, as residents confronted settlers who had entered the village and stolen livestock.
The UN subsequently condemned the killings and expressed “extreme concern” over settler violence, warning that settlers appeared able to “run rampant” in attacks against Palestinian civilians, their property and their way of life. Palestine Chronicle further stated that Israeli occupation authorities issued 133 orders banning Palestinian officials and worshippers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Jerusalem, as Palestinian media reported yesterday.