Palestinian Stabs Female Israeli Soldier in East Jerusalem
A young female Israeli soldier was in moderate condition on Thursday after being stabbed by a Palestinian on a section of Jerusalem's light railway in the city's annexed Arab east sector, police said.
The attack was the first such incident on the light rail system, which began operating throughout the city in August last year.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the woman "was stabbed by a man suspected of being a Palestinian in Pisgat Zeev, apparently on board the light rail. The doors of the train then opened, and the stabber fled the scene."
Shortly afterwards, police confirmed the suspect was a Palestinian, saying he had been arrested at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah.
A paramedic who treated the 19-year-old uniformed soldier told public radio the victim was stabbed in the chest and the arm, and evacuated to hospital in serious condition.
A spokeswoman for the Shaare Zedek hospital told Agence France Presse that the woman was currently in moderate condition.
"She is currently anaesthetized, and we are evaluating her condition to determine how to proceed with treatment," Shoham Ruvio said.
Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich confirmed the woman was a soldier in a posting on Twitter, saying: "A female soldier was wounded due to stabbing attack in Jerusalem."
There was no immediate indication of the attacker's motives.
Israel's first light rail system began operating in August after many delays.
The 14-kilometer (nine-mile) line begins at Mount Herzl, passes through west Jerusalem's main artery and skirts the Old City, before heading through east Jerusalem and ending at the settlement neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.
Source: Agence France Presse
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