Israeli police officers secure the area following a suspected shooting attack in which an Israeli policeman was injured in Jerusalem’s Old City
JERUSALEM, Feb 7 (NNN-Xinhua) — Israeli border police officers shot dead a Palestinian gunman after he shot and wounded an Israeli policeman in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israeli authorities said.
According to the police, the suspect opened fire at a patrol of Border Police officers near the Lions’ Gate in east Jerusalem’s Old City, slightly injuring an officer in his hand. “Other officers quickly responded with fire at the assailant and neutralized him,” read the statement.
A later statement said he was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not immediately clear.
The violence came amid an abrupt escalation between Israel and the Palestinians in the wake of the recently-released U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan.
Israel said a Palestinian police officer was killed on Thursday by Israeli fire in the city of Jenin in West Bank as large Israeli forces entered the city to demolish the home of an assailant. During the clashes, Israeli forces also shot dead a 19-year-old police cadet.
Also on Thursday, a Palestinian driver slammed his car at a patrol of Israeli troops in Jerusalem, wounding at least 12 of them before fleeing the scene.
Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian movement, said the car-ramming attack was a reaction to Trump’s plan, which the Arab world has widely denounced as biased and unfair. — NNN-XINHUA