Stabbing and Fire Attacks in Jerusalem, Major Hamas Attack Thwarted // FAI ONLINE

Palestinian fighters with Ezz-Al Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, rest on a sidewalk during a patrol in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 26, 2020. (Said Khatib, AFP)

Two attacks in Jerusalem in as many days underscored the ongoing threat to Israelis, even as the number of COVID-19 cases passed 14,000 with almost 200 deaths.

Video posted to social media showed a large fire burning on the lower floors of Jerusalem City Hall on Wednesday. A suspected arsonist was arrested, and no casualties were reported. The fire came one day after a vehicle ramming and stabbing attack left one Jerusalem Border Guard officer moderately wounded and the assailant dead at a checkpoint near East Jerusalem. Vehicle ramming and stabbings have become a common method of attack by terrorists against Israelis in recent years, after a system of security fences and checkpoints minimized the incidence of deadlier attacks using firearms and explosives.

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Despite the ongoing occurrence of smaller attacks, Israeli authorities announced today that a larger terrorist plot was thwarted after the arrest of 3 Hamas operatives who were financed by tens of thousands of shekels. The suspects had been casing the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem - a large 30,000 seat football stadium - in advance of a bombing attack which could have targeted Israeli soldiers staging there during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We invite our global partners to continue to pray for us for the peace of Jerusalem, as Israelis of all backgrounds continue to face both seen and unseen threats across the country