Israeli security guard stabbed and 'seriously wounded' at Jerusalem bus station

Attack comes days after Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the country's capital 

Caroline Mortimer
Sunday 10 December 2017 14:18 GMT
Police gather at the scene where an Israeli security guard was stabbed at a Jerusalem bus station
Police gather at the scene where an Israeli security guard was stabbed at a Jerusalem bus station

Israeli police say that a security guard has been stabbed near Jerusalem's central bus station.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the guard was seriously wounded Sunday and his attacker arrested. The Magen David Adom medical service says a 30-year-old male suffered a stabbing wound in his upper body.

The incident appeared to be the first attack since President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The announcement set off protests and demonstration across the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and demonstrations around the world.

Israel launched fresh air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to rocket fire.

The Islamist group Hamas said the strikes had killed two of its gunmen.

Meanwhile two more Palestinians were killed in further clashes on the Gaza border on Friday in a "day of rage" and scores more were wounded in the occupied West Bank during protests.

In more than two years of intermittent attacks, Palestinians have killed more than 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks. Israeli forces have killed more than 260 Palestinians in that time, mostly attackers.

The Arab League warned that the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital would "deepen tension, ignite anger and threaten to plunge region into more violence and chaos".

The 22 nations, including close US allies, have urged Mr Trump to reverse which they called a "dangerous violation of international law" and announced it would seek a United Nations Security Council resolution rejecting the move.

Such a measure is unlikely to pass as the US has a veto as a permanent member of the Security Council.

Most countries have not recognised Israel's 1967 annexation of east Jerusalem and maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. Under a longstanding international consensus, the fate of the city is to be determined in final status peace negotiations. Israel says it hopes others will follow the US President's lead, but the United States found itself alone in the UN Security Council on Friday, fielding criticism from the other 14 members over the proposed move.

Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the council took a strong stance against "American violations of international law."

"They have no mandate to give away Jerusalem to an occupying power or to violate international law in such a blatant and egregious manner," she said.

Additional reporting by agencies

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