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Palestinian Stabs Two Israelis Teens

A Palestinian youth on Sunday stabbed and wounded two Israeli teenagers on their way to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City during a Jewish festival, officials said.

Police said in a statement they had arrested the 19-year-old Palestinian on suspicion of attacking the two 17-year-old Israelis from behind.

The victims were taken to hospital with moderate wounds to their torsos, Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said.

Police said they used footage from surveillance cameras to track the suspect as he returned home, and found the knife thought to have been used in the early morning attack nearby.

The stabbing came as Jews celebrated the holiday of Shavuot, or Pentecost, which began on Saturday night.

The holiday's traditions include all-night learning of Jewish scriptures and prayer, with the Western Wall -- the holiest site at which Jews are allowed to pray -- a popular location.

Tensions have been running high in and around Jerusalem since the killings of Israeli and Palestinian captives in tit-for-tat kidnappings by Palestinian militants and Jewish extremists last summer.

A Palestinian was shot dead last month after attempting to stab border policemen in east Jerusalem in one of a series of lone-wolf attacks against Israelis.

Source: Agence France Presse


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