Masked members of the Israeli security forces patrol outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on June 16, 2017, following an attack.THOMAS COEX/AFP / Getty Images
Three Palestinians armed with an automatic weapon and knives attacked Israeli officers on duty in twin attacks at two locations near Jerusalem's Old City Friday evening, critically wounding one before they were shot and killed.
It was the latest bloodshed in a wave of Palestinian attacks on civilians and soldiers that erupted in 2015. At times the attacks were daily occurrences, but they have relatively subsided in recent months. However there have been a string of recent attacks near the Old City.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a Palestinian stabbed a female officer in her 20s, critically wounding her. Other officers opened fire, killing the attacker.
Nearby, Palestinians fired at officers with an automatic weapon and attacked them with knives before officers returned fire, killing them.
Since September 2015, Palestinian assailants have killed 42 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. Israel identified most of them as attackers.
Israel blames the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.
Palestinians say it stems from anger over decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim for their state.