Israel Police: No link between Jerusalem attackers and any armed group

"The Palestinian youth will continue to characterize the occupation as its single enemy."

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: JUNE 17, 2017 16:30
Israeli police react to deadly Jerusalem terror attack, June 17, 2017. (Credit: Israel Police)
No connection has been found between three Palestinians who carried out a fatal attack in Jerusalem on Friday and any organization, Israel Police said on Saturday, after Islamic State had claimed the assault.
Palestinian militant factions have also denied that Islamic State carried out the attack, in which one Border Police officer was killed.
"It was a local cell. At this stage no indication has been found it was directed by a terrorist organization nor has any connection to any organization been found," police spokeswoman Luba Simri said.
Staff Sergeant Major Hadas Malka, 23, was taken to the emergency care unit at nearby Hadassah University Medical Center in critical condition after sustaining multiple stab wounds during the attack. Hospital officials later pronounced her dead after failing to save her life.
Two Palestinians were shot dead after opening fire at and trying to stab a group of Israeli police officers at one scene, police said. At the other, a Palestinian fatally stabbed a border policewoman before being shot dead by police.
Israel Police said on Friday that all the assailants were from Palestinian cities in the West Bank. Two of the attackers, both from Ramallah, were between the ages of 18 and 19 and the third was a 30-year-old from Hebron, Simri added.
The assaults took place simultaneously in two areas near the Damascus gate of Jerusalem's walled Old City.
Gaza-based terrorist organization Hamas praised the bloodshed but disputed the Islamic State's claim, stating that the perpetrators were affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
"The sacrificial operation in Jerusalem that was carried out by three martyrs in Jerusalem confirms that the PA’s attempt to make the relationship with the occupier 'a normal relationship' is a failure. The Palestinian youth will continue to characterize the occupation as its single enemy," said Hamas spokesperson Hazim Qassim in a Facebook post.
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party called the death of the three perpetrators a "war crime by the Israeli occupation forces" in a statement published by Fatah spokesperson Osama Al-Qawasmi.