An Israeli woman was left with a foot-long knife in her back after allegedly being stabbed by her Palestinian teenage neighbour, whose...
An Israeli woman was left with a foot-long knife in her back after allegedly being stabbed by her Palestinian teenage neighbour, whose family are facing eviction, in East Jerusalem.
Moria Cohen, 26, was stabbed in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood - which has been hit by waves of unrest linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - on Wednesday morning, Israeli emergency services confirmed.
Cohen, who was walking her children to kindergarten at the time of the attack, was admitted to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus with a foot-long knife in her back, according to director of general surgery Haggi Mazeh.
Head surgeon Mazeh said the cut caused by the knife was not deep. Cohen was treated for 'moderate injuries' and released from hospital just hours later.
A 14-year-old female suspect fled from the scene and was tracked down to a nearby school after a massive manhunt involving police helicopters and ground units.
Moria Cohen, 26, was stabbed in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood (scene pictured), which has been hit by of unrest linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on Wednesday morning
The 14-year-old female suspect fled from the scene (pictured) and was tracked down to a nearby school after a massive manhunt involving police helicopters and ground units
Israeli police said they had also arrested 'a number' of other women who had surrounded the suspect at the time of her arrest.
According to an anti-settlement group, the suspect belongs to one of at least seven families in Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction proceedings. The neighbourhood has several Palestinian families at risk of eviction amid a decades-long legal battle.
Dvir Cohen, the victim's husband, claimed the teenager who stabbed his wife was their neighbour, alleging that they had suffered 'daily harassment' from her family.
He told Israel National News' Channel 7: 'She was our neighbour and she knows us. Of course they weren't the kind of neighbours you could borrow eggs or milk from, we suffered daily harassment from them.'
Mr Cohen told the news network that he was on reserve army duty on Wednesday morning, so his wife had walked their five children to kindergarten.
He alleged the 14-year-old stabbed her just metres away from their home, claiming their son screamed, 'Mommy, you've got a knife in your back'.
Mr Cohen confirmed that his wife is feeling 'good' and said his family will continue to live in the same neighbourhood despite the stabbing.
Dvir Cohen, the victim's husband, claimed the teenager who stabbed his wife was their neighbour. Pictured: Israeli police at the scene of the stabbing on Wednesday
Meanwhile, the suspect's grandfather said the family was 'in shock' following the stabbing.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised 'the security forces for the swift capture of the terrorist' and wished 'a speedy recovery to the victim'.
The stabbing took place in Sheikh Jarrah, where several Palestinian extended families are at risk of being evicted by Jewish settlers amid a decades-long legal battle.
Hagit Ofran of the Peace Now anti-settlement group, which tracks east Jerusalem land rights cases, said the suspect belongs to one of at least seven families in Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction proceedings.
'Their case is awaiting a decision at the Supreme Court,' Ofran said.
Land rights tensions in Sheikh Jarrah and other contested east Jerusalem neighbourhoods exploded in May, with Palestinians repeatedly clashing with Israeli security forces.
The unrest helped to fuel 11 days of deadly fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Sheikh Jarrah is one of a number of east neighbourhoods where Jewish settlers have lodged claims to homes where Palestinians live, saying the properties belonged to Jews before Israel's 1948 war for independence.
Palestinians have resisted the claims, saying the land was allocated to them when east Jerusalem was under Jordanian administration between 1948 and 1967.
The suspect reportedly belongs to one of at least seven families in Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction proceedings. Pictured: Israeli police at the scene of the stabbing
The stabbing also follows a string of 'lone wolf' attacks in recent weeks. Pictured: Israeli police at the scene of the stabbing in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem
The stabbing follows a string of 'lone wolf' attacks in recent weeks by individuals who do not appear to have had ties to established militant groups.
On Monday, a Palestinian teen rammed his car into an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. A security guard shot him dead, Israeli authorities said.
And just days before on Saturday, a Palestinian man stabbed a Israeli man near the city's Damascus Gate and then 'attempted to stab a border police officer', according to police.
Officers shot the assailant and appeared to continue firing after he lay on the ground incapacitated.
Official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the assailant as Mohammad Shawkat Ahmed Salima, 25, from the northern West Bank town of Salfit.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said the stabbing victim was a 20-year-old religious Jewish man who was taken to hospital in 'moderate to severe condition'.
Palestinians accused Israel of excessive force, while Israel said officers who killed the attacker followed protocol.
Last month, an Israeli civilian was killed and three people wounded when a Palestinian gunman opened fire in Jerusalem's Old City in a rare shooting attack by a militant of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group which controls the Gaza Strip.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.
Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state. The city's fate was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that ground to a halt more than a decade ago.
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