British tourist killed on train in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian man stabbed a young British tourist to death in Jerusalem as she travelled on the light rail close to the Old City, which was packed with Christians celebrating Good Friday and Jews enjoying Passover, police and hospital officials said.

Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center said the woman died soon after she was rushed there following the attack.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that as the train approached City Hall, the Palestinian pulled a knife out of his bag and stabbed the woman in her early 20s multiple times in the upper body.

An off duty policeman, who was riding the train with his family, pulled the emergency brake and charged at the Palestinian attacker, Samri said.

She said an initial probe shows the 57-year-old attacker is mentally ill.

Local media said a pregnant woman was injured when the light rail came to a sudden stop.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement that he is “filled with sadness” over the violence and that Israel’s “thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim.” He said “this week thousands have come through the ancient gates of Jerusalem, to celebrate the feasts of Passover and Easter throughout the city — while the security forces work to ensure the safety of the dear residents and visitors to the city. And so we will continue to do,” he said. “Terror can never overcome us. Terror will never destroy our lives here.”

Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service said the Palestinian attacker had recently tried to commit suicide in hospital by swallowing a razor blade and that he was convicted of sexually abusing his daughter in 2011.

“This is not the first time that a Palestinian suffering from personal, mental or moral distress has chosen to commit a terrorist attack in order to escape his problems,” it said in a statement.

Apart from Friday’s fatality, Palestinians have killed 42 Israelis and two visiting Americans since September 2015, mainly in stabbings, car ramming assaults and shooting attacks.

Israeli forces have killed at least 243 Palestinians during that time, most of them identified as attackers by Israeli authorities.

MENAHEM KAHANA/GETTY IMAGES Christian pilgrims carry wooden crosses along the path where Jesus walked, known as the Via Dolorosaon Good Friday in Jerusalem’s Old City. A young tourist was killed in a knife attack aboard a light rail line in the city.