Posted on 11/23/15
| News Source: VIN
Jerusalem - Two Palestinian teenage girls stabbed a 70-year-old Palestinian man with scissors outside a central Jerusalem market on Monday before they were shot by police — in a fresh burst of violence ahead of the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Police said one of the attackers was killed, while the second was wounded. The man, apparently mistaken for an Israeli, suffered wounds to his head and back, while a 27-year-old bystander was lightly wounded, apparently from bullet shrapnel, police said.
The attack was the latest in a two-month spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence that erupted in Jerusalem in mid-September and quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Kerry is expected to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday to help ease tensions, in what is to be his first visit to the area in a year.
The incident occurred near Mahane Yehuda, a popular outdoor market in downtown Jerusalem. It caused a panicked scene in the busy area.
A witness, Akram Ezyy, said the attackers looked like were “about 12.” He said they were chasing after two old women with scissors when they were shot.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement the police officer ordered the girls to halt their attack, and shot them when they came toward him. The statement did not say how close the girls got to the officer.