IDF forces on Thursday night conducted an arrest in Ramallah of an Arab terrorist who lives in eastern Jerusalem, and is suspected of having stabbed two Border Patrol officers in the Old City of Jerusalem last Friday.
During the arrest IDF forces were attacked by young Arab residents of the city in Samaria that serves as the Palestinian Authority's (PA) seat of power. Apparently the terrorist had fled there to hide out, and successfully evaded security forces for a week.
The Arab residents claimed that the IDF forces were forced to detonate the door of the home where the suspect was holed up, which then led to an angry mob descending on the soldiers.
Two soldiers were lightly wounded in the clashes, but they were nevertheless able to successfully apprehend the suspected terrorist.
The stabbing last Friday occurred early in the morning following Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount, and took place at a police security point near the Lion's Gate.
There was initial doubt as to whether the attacker came from the Temple Mount or from alleyways in the Old City, although video that surfaced of the incident apparently supported the latter assessment, with the attacker seen coming from the opposite direction as the throngs of Muslim worshippers.
One of the policemen, 19, was wounded in his neck. Then the second one, 35, was wounded in his hand while trying to defend himself from the attacker. The two were evacuated to the Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in the city while suffering from light wounds.
Jerusalem Councilman Arieh King, who posted the video of the attack to his Facebook page, blamed Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich (Yisrael Beytenu) for the collapse of security in the capital, and the orders on security officers to avoid fire on Arab attackers.
"Ask yourselves what stopped the Border Patrol soldiers from shooting with their personal weapons against the terrorist, and who educated them not to shoot when they try to murder them?" posed King.