A terror attack at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate Wednesday claimed the life of a 19-year-old Border Police officer.
Hadar Cohen from Or Yehuda succumbed to wounds inflicted on her during the shooting and stabbing attack after efforts to save her life at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus failed.
After the terrorist shot her shortly after 2 p.m., Cohen was rushed to hospital in critical condition and paramedics who treated her at the scene said she was fighting for her life.
Hospital officials said she was shot in the head. “We succeeded in stabilizing her condition for a time, but her head wound was so severe she never had a chance,” a hospital spokeswoman said.
Another policewomen was injured and in serious but stable condition at the hospital. She had wounds all over her body, including her head, the spokeswoman said.
The three attackers, all between 20-21 years old, identified by the Palestinian news agency Ma’an as Ahmed Abou Al-Roub, Mohammed Kameel and Mohammed Nassar, all from the northern West Bank, were armed with apparently locally fabricated “Carl Gustav” rifles, knives and two pipe bombs, police said. Police initially suspected a third item found at the scene was a bomb, but later determined it to simply be an abandoned bag.
According to the Shin Bet, the terrorists had no prior involvement in terror activities.
A third victim, identified only as a 20-year-old Israeli, was very lightly wounded and treated at the scene.
Cohen had only been drafted into the Border Police two months prior to her untimely death, and was still in training as she patrolled the area outside Damascus Gate on Wednesday.
Cohen is survived by her parents, a brother and a sister.
Cohen spotted the terrorists behaving suspiciously as part of her three-member squad and asked to see their identification papers. As one attacker took out his ID card to show it to the officers, the others started shooting and stabbing the officers. After police killed the attackers they found pipe bombs on their person.
“As far as we can tell from the armaments, [the terrorists] planned a larger, more sophisticated attack,” Jerusalem Deputy Police Chief Avshalom Peled said. “This is an escalation from what we’ve seen thus far. The police officers prevented a combined and much larger attack.”
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| Israeli medicals carrying wounded Israeli policewomen, next to Damascus gate of the old city of Jerusalem, 03 February 2016. EPA |
Magen David Adom rescue service director Eli Bin said that Cohen had been stabbed in the neck multiple times and had lost a lot of blood.
“When we arrived at the scene we saw two young women, approximately 20 years old, lying on the ground with puncture wounds to the upper body. One was unconscious, the other was still conscious but dazed,” MDA paramedic Nissan Hefetz said.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat visited the scene shortly after the attack.
“I had a chance to speak to our brave warriors, who were not afraid to engage” the terrorists, he said at the scene.
“This was a real battle. In this battle, the police and Border Police officers of Jerusalem prevented a much larger disaster. Their readiness allowed them to [quickly] engage [the attackers] and save lives. The public in Jerusalem must keep their eyes open, and not hesitate to engage [attackers]. That readiness will prevent attacks.”
In a statement Wednesday, Hamas congratulated the “unique and heroic operation,” describing it as a “blow to the security system of the occupation.”
