Israeli Stabbed in East Jerusalem; Palestinian Teen Facing Eviction Arrested

An Israeli woman was lightly wounded Wednesday in a stabbing attack in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Police apprehended a 14-year-old Palestinian teen, Nofoud Jad Araf Hamad, from the neighborhood. She is suspected of stabbing the 26-year-old Israeli woman with a knife while she was crossing the street with her daughter.

Hamad fled the scene after the attack and was found about an hour later at the nearby Al-Rawdah girls' school. The stabbing victim was taken to Hadassah University Hospital at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.

Hamad's family is among those in Sheikh Jarrah who have immediate eviction orders pending against them; her grandfather is a prominent activist against the evictions. Before the teenager was apprehended, a large number of police officers, aided by a police helicopter, searched the area for the suspect.

Also taken into custody were the school’s principal, another staff member and another student who is related to Hamad. Police raided Hamad's home and arrested her mother as well.

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The eviction action was filed by a Jewish organization in 2020 and 2021 that has asserted ownership rights to a number of homes in the neighborhood based on Jewish ownership there prior to Israel’s establishment.

The Sheikh Jarrah case, which is currently pending before the Israeli Supreme Court, has been a major source of tension, and has attracted international attention. The Supreme Court has attempted to settle the case, but a group of residents has opposed the terms proposed by the court.