Palestinian Boy Stabs Israeli Cop In The Neck In Jerusalem During Questioning

A Palestinian boy has been accused of stabbing a 24-year-old Israeli police officer in the neck outside Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, May 8.

The alleged attacker, 20-year-old Nadheer Marzouq, believed to be a Palestinian who hails from the West Bank town of Abwein, north of Ramallah, was initially flagged by police officers for suspicious activity.

The authorities proceeded to take the man into custody and brought him to a police booth that overlooked the entrance to the Old City for questioning. However, while the alleged attacker was being interrogated, the assailant reportedly drew a knife and stabbed one of the officers in the neck, the New York Post reported.

A group of other policemen immediately responded to the disturbance and found the cop lying on the stairs of the booth and bleeding out. The victim, who remained conscious after the ordeal, was immediately rushed by his fellow officers to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, a witness claimed that he heard police officers shoot at least seven shots at the cop’s alleged attacker. The assailant was reportedly taken to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem for medical treatment and was listed in critical condition, the Times Of Israel reported.

“He’s in critical condition. He’s ventilated in an induced coma and his life is very much in danger,” the alleged attacker's lawyer Khaldoun Najm said.

Najm has derided the actions of the police force and stated that the authorities focused on treating the wounded officer and had left the victim to bleed out.

However, the Israeli police have defended their officers' actions and stated that the suspect was carrying a second knife.

“The policemen acted courageously while engaging a person who aroused their suspicion, and thus effectively prevented harm to innocent civilians,” the Israel Police said in a statement.

The attack reportedly came just hours after two Palestinians were arrested for a terror attack last week in the central city of Elad.

According to recent studies, the tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have risen sharply in recent months, with repeated terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank recently having left about 19 people dead.