Two guests stabbed in terror attack ‘carried out by employee screaming ‘Allahu akbar” at hotel in Israel
Two guests have been stabbed in terror attack carried out by an employee screaming ‘Allahu akbar’ at a hotel in Israel.
A 60-year-old Israeli was severely wounded during the horrifying attack in the dining room of the building in Kibbutz Tzuba, in the Jerusalem Hills, on Friday.
A second man, 23, was also wounded. Emergency services rushed to the scene and the two victims were evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.
The terrorist is a 42-year-old resident of Shuafat refugee camp who has a criminal past, according to local media. He had previously been convicted of stone-throwing offenses.
The attacker was an outside contractor hired to wash dishes at the hotel.
According to the police, an off-duty officer from the Southern District was staying at the hotel and restrained the terrorist.
He told local media: ‘I was at a family event at the hotel when I noticed a crowd rushing out. I immediately realized something unusual was happening, so I shouted for people to stay calm and walk instead of running.
Two guests have been stabbed in terror attack carried out by an employee screaming ‘Allahu akbar’ at a hotel in Israel. Pictured: Emergency services at the scene
A 60-year-old Israeli was severely wounded during the horrifying attack in the dining room of the building in Kibbutz Tzuba in the Jerusalem Hills on Friday. Pictured: Police at the hotel after the attack
‘I drew my gun, grabbed identification for myself, and ran toward the direction the crowd had fled from.
‘To minimize the risk to remaining civilians, I subdued the terrorist using only physical force, not gunfire. With the help of some others, we managed to pin him to the ground and put him in handcuffs.’
He added: ”I noticed a person had been stabbed in the upper body and gave him first aid. It was then I saw that my cousin had also been stabbed.’
Eyewitnesses reported hearing the attacker shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ before he started to slash at the two victims.
A hotel guest told Arutz Sheva: ‘We were sitting to eat, there was suddenly a commotion, we didn’t understand what was happening.
‘We saw someone holding a knife about to enter the balcony where we were, and an Arab employee, the dining room manager, caught him and saved us.’
The attacker is in police custody.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.