By Nicholas Wambolt, CNN • Updated 5th February 2017
Police shot and killed a Hamas militant suspected of killing an Israeli man and wounding four others in a pre-dawn attack in Jerusalem Monday, the city’s police spokesman said.
Two civilians and two police officers were wounded in the attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. One of the civilians died later of his wounds.
The assailant, who was wearing a camouflaged vest, opened fire at officers at a bus stop before running into a crowd of tourists, Rosenfeld said.
Suspect killed
He was shot by officers and died of his wounds in a hospital, Rosenfeld said.
“Security forces were on the scene within two minutes and neutralized the terrorist, at the direction of national security forces,” Rosenfeld said.
Israel Police Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman joined a gathering of police leaders in Jerusalem in paying homage to the victims and their families.
The attack occurred near the third-busiest bus station in the city and not far from where Palestinian assailants killed an Israeli policeman in a knife attack two weeks ago.
The attack targeted residents of East Jerusalem, who largely support Israel, and members of Israel’s Palestinian minority, who mostly support the Palestinians.
Not since 2014’s war in Gaza have there been so many assaults on Israelis in Jerusalem, an Israeli government official told CNN.
Schools
Tourists were streaming into the city shortly after the attack.
Jerusalem’s Bar-Ilan University said several students and employees of the university witnessed the attack and sustained injuries. All were treated and released from local hospitals, it said in a statement.
The attack occurred as families were departing Rehavia for school, Rosenfeld said.
The officials in Jerusalem were to meet with the families of the wounded, the statement said.
Jerusalem had 11 stabbing attacks in December alone, according to Israel’s Channel 2, which cited police statistics.
Security forces also stormed two buildings in Jerusalem that had been used as Hamas headquarters and rocket-launching sites, the station reported.
Palestinian opposition
Hamas, a Palestinian terror group, called for revenge in a statement issued in Gaza.
“The blood of our martyrs will not go in vain, and the enemy’s massacres will only open doors for God’s revenge against it,” the statement said.
“The occupation must leave Jerusalem without mourning.”