Stabbing in Jerusalem's Damascus Gate
Stabbing in Jerusalem's Damascus GateArutz Sheva

Jerusalem district police on early Friday afternoon arrested a 15-year-old Arab resident of the capital, who is suspected of having stabbed a 21-year-old Jewish yeshiva student the night before with a screwdriver.

The Arab suspect, a resident of the northern part of Jerusalem, was located on Hagai Street in the Old City and arrested with the assistance of Border Patrol officers; he was brought in for investigation.

In the attack, which occurred at the Old City's Damascus Gate, the victim was stabbed in the back as he returned from the Kotel (Western Wall).

Dr. Ofer Merin, deputy director general of Shaare Tzedek Hospital and head of the trauma unit, told Arutz Sheva about the stabbing, saying the Jewish youth was evacuated to the hospital "with a screwdriver stuck in his upper back, in moderate condition."

Merin explained that the screwdriver wounded the youth's right lung, saying "he underwent initial treatment in the trauma room, and after imagining checks we removed the knife while neutralizing the bleeding area."

"His condition at the moment is stable with a drain in the chest, and there is no danger to his life," added the doctor. "He is fully conscious and communicating." The victim's condition reportedly continued to be stable on Friday morning.

MKs on the right responded with outrage to the attack, with MK Danny Danon (Likud) stating "we must allow Jews to reach the Kotel (Western Wall) in security, even at the price of reducing the maneuvering area of the Palestinians."

"Make no mistake, this is a religious war over the identity and ownership of Israel in general and of Jerusalem in particular," assessed MK Yoni Chetboun, of the Yachad - Ha'am Itanu party.