UPDATE: This story was updated at 12:50 p.m., and again at 1:02 p.m, 1:10 p.m and 1:18 p.m.. According to the Times of Israel, the victim in today’s Jaffa stabbing spree was an American tourist. We’ll update the story as it evolves.
Israel experienced its worst day of terror in weeks today after three terrorist attacks left at least twelve injured, and one dead.
The attacks began Tuesday afternoon in Jerusalem and Petach Tikvah, when two Israeli police officers and an Israeli man were seriously wounded in separate attacks.
The attacks — a shooting and a stabbing — occurred within minutes of each other. Both alleged assailants were killed, including one reportedly at the hand of his own knife by the victim.
In the latter attack, near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, a man on a motorcycle opened fire on Border Police officers. The assailant was shot during a police chase and later died of his injuries, police said. He was identified as a 25-year-old Palestinian man from eastern Jerusalem with no security-related record.
One of the injured officers is near death, according to Israeli reports.
In Petach Tikvah, the assailant in a stabbing attack at a convenience store was stabbed to death with his own knife by the victim, eyewitnesses said, according to media reports. The attacker was identified by the Israeli media as an Arab man.
The victim is reported to be a 35-year-old haredi Orthodox man who was stabbed in the back, and reportedly pulled the knife out of his own neck to neutralize his attacker. He was taken to the hospital in the central Israeli city.
Just hours after both attacks, an assailant went on a stabbing spree in various locations around Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, leaving at least nine people injured and killing one American tourist. According to reports, the tourist was a 29-year-old American man visiting Israel with his wife, who was also gravely injured, reports Ynet News.
The Times of Israel reports that police have neutralized the Jaffa shooter, identified as a 21-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank city of Qalqilya, and are increasing security in Tel Aviv. There is reportedly no threat of a second attacker.
The three attacks mark one of the bloodiest days in recent memory since the wave of violence began last October. They also coincide with the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
With files from JTA
