An Israeli border police officer died of injuries she sustained in an attack Wednesday outside the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli authorities said.
Three Palestinian attackers were shot and killed by Israeli police in the incident, Israel police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
The policewoman, Hadar Cohen, 19, was shot in the head during a shootout with the attackers, and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, director of Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital, told CNN.
Emergency services attempted to resuscitate Cohen, but she died a few hours later.
Police said the attackers were carrying three automatic weapons and knives, as well as two explosive devices which did not detonate, leading police to suspect they could have been planning a mass attack on civilians.
The incident occurred as the men were checked by border police at the Damascus Gate, after authorities’ suspicions were aroused.
As police checked their IDs, one of the men produced a gun and another a knife, and attacked Cohen and her colleague, Rosenfeld said.
Her colleague sustained moderate injuries from stab wounds, Levtzion-Korach said.
The attackers, from the West Bank town of Jenin, were aged 20, 20 and 21, Rosenfeld said.
“We’re going to have to look at where they came in from, where did they get hold of the weapons,” said Rosenfeld.
“We’re seeing a different phase of both equipment and also an increase in the level of the type of attacks that have taken place, so this is something that we’re going to have to assess in terms of security.”
Israel has experienced a spate of violence since October.