Yeshiva Rabbi Stabbed Near Jerusalem's Damascus Gate

by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Yechezkel Greenwald is in Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital after being stabbed by an Arab terrorist near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City Tuesday morning.

The 49-year-old Beit El resident is a teacher at the Ateret Kohanim Yeshiva in the Muslim Quarter. A student who was accompanying the rabbi reportedly fought off the terrorist, preventing the rabbi's murder.

Rabbi Greenwald was treated by Hatzalah-Ichud medics and evacuated to hospital by Magen David Adom ambulance. He is reported to be in fair-to-good condition. The Greenwald family has asked that people pray for Rav Yechezkel ben Zahava.

Terrorist’s Face Caught on Camera
Security cameras at the gate captured the attack on tape. The face of the terrorist was quickly isolated and distributed to police searching the area. The Damascus Gate is the central open-air market in the area and is usually quite crowded.

Jewish residents of the Muslim Quarter – the largest part of the Old City -- have been instructed by police following the attack not to walk through the area without an armed guard.

Second Terrorist Attack in Jerusalem in Two Weeks
Tuesday’s stabbing was second terrorist attack in Jerusalem in less than two weeks. Eight young students at the Merkaz HaRavYeshiva in Jerusalem were slaughtered in cold blood by a Palestinian Authority Arab resident of the Jabel Mukabar suburb in the capital. Eleven other students were wounded.

The murderer, Ala Abu Dheim, holds an Israeli ID card, as does his family that enables them to move freely within pre-1967 Israel, including Jerusalem. They also are entitled to all Israeli benefits enjoyed by citizens of the Jewish State, with the exception of participating in national elections, since they chose not to accept official citizenship. The Abu Dheim family votes in PA elections instead.

The terrorist was a well-known and trusted driver who often transported the young yeshiva students back and forth from school as he quietly carried out his reconnaissance on his target. Witnesses said he chased down the eight boys he murdered, shooting them at point-blank range after they had already been wounded. Bullet holes in the floor where they lay in a pool of blood attested to the truth of the account.

Closure in Judea and Samaria for Holiday Security
A full closure will be placed on the Palestinian Authority areas of Judea and Samaria beginning Wednesday and will last until Monday, covering the holiday of Purim, a three-day holiday period this year which starts Thursday evening.

The closure stems from intelligence information that terror attacks are being planned to coincide with the close of the 40-day Muslim mourning period that followed the assassination of the Hizbullah terror organization’s second-in-command, Imad Mughniyeh. The 40-day mark is a favorite among terrorists for carrying out revenge attacks.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) also released a statement to the media warning of seven concrete threats of terrorist attacks over the Purim festival period. Police have already raised the terror alert in response to the intelligence information.

Palestinian Authority Arabs and Israeli Arabs who live in Jerusalem will still be able to travel freely throughout the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.