Some two and a half weeks ago, we wrote here about one of those fairly ordinary terror attacks that keep getting brief mentions in the Israeli news media and – usually – no coverage or very little in the non-Israeli media.
There continues to be serious violence in the air. Two officers of the Border Guard service (Mishmar Hagvul in Hebrew) were seriously injured when attacked from behind by a man wielding a knife on the street outside Jerusalem’s Old City around 7:00 this (Monday) morning. Times of Israel says one of the Israeli victims, a female officer of about 38, is in intensive care at Shaarei Zedek Medical Center hospital with stab wounds to the neck. (We have noted before that attacking the neck is standard Arab-on-Israeli practice in the Palestinian Arab terror manual.) She is unconscious and was placed on a respirator… Their attacker was shot and is now receiving treatment in a Jerusalem hospital where the latest report is that he’s in critical condition. The initial reports we have seen say he is in his early 20s and from the Ras al-Amud neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. In a later Times of Israel report, the knifer is identified as Ayman al-Kurd… [T]he attack took place on the road outside two of Jerusalem’s medieval gates: Damascus Gate and Herod’s (or Flower) Gate. The Israeli victims were on security patrol… [“19-Sep-16: Outside Jerusalem’s Old City, a Monday morning Arab-on-Israeli terror attack“]
We ourselves are familiar with how news reporting interest waxes sharply (if at all) and then wanes as the broken glass is swept away, the victims are assumed to be in the care of their families or doctors or emergency room teams, and the perpetrators spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
We’re also familiar with how unfactual summaries like that often are.
Here’s today’s update on the Border Guard officer – still un-named in Israeli news reports – who was attacked by a knife-wielding Palestinian Arab while she was on foot patrol securing the busy streets outside Jerusalem’s Old City precinct:
A female police officer who was severely injured in a terror attack in September has shown promising signs of improvement. The 38-year old officer was stabbed by an Arab terrorist near Herod’s Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem on September 19th. Her patrol partner was also stabbed, but managed to draw his weapon and shoot and neutralize the attacker. On Thursday, Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem released a statement detailing the terror victim’s improvements, noting that she was now breathing unassisted and is able to communicate with those around her. But, hospital officials added, the victim is still suffering from neurological damage caused by injuries to her spinal cord suffered during the stabbing. She remains in the intensive care unit… [Israel National News, October 6, 2016]
There’s much more to be found on-line about the attacker.
An Israeli magistrate court extended on Thursday the detention of a Palestinian who was critically injured while carrying out a stabbing attack on Israeli security forces in occupied East Jerusalem earlier this month. Ayman al-Kurd, a 20-year-old resident of the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood of East Jerusalem, stabbed and wounded two Israeli police officers on Sept. 19 just north of the Old City. His detention has been extended to Oct. 5, according to Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs lawyer Muhammad Mahmoud, who recently met with al-Kurd. One of the officers shot and critically injured al-Kurd on the scene, causing hemiparesis — weakness on one side of the body — Mahmoud said, adding that al-Kurd was still being treated at the Hadassa Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem… [Ma’an News Agency: “Israel extends detention of Palestinian critically injured after carrying out Jerusalem stabbing”, September 29, 2016]
Being treated in one of the best hospitals in the Middle East will undoubtedly improve his chances of making a full recovery from those shots that stopped him from completing his cowardly attack.
A Facebook page headlined “I am a Palestinian. I am not a terrorist” provides a sympathetic portrait of the terrorist, and includes a photograph of his Israeli-government-issued ID card [here]. As an Israeli, it’s likely he will continue to be entitled to Israeli Social Security (Bituach Leumi) benefits as he recovers from his injuries.
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