According to police, a 60-year-old Israeli man was severely wounded, while a 23-year-old man also sustained injuries.
Two guests were stabbed on Friday in a terror attack at a hotel in Kibbutz Tzuba, located in the Jerusalem Hills, after an employee, reportedly shouting “Allahu akbar”, launched an assault in the hotel’s dining room.
According to police, a 60-year-old Israeli man was severely wounded, while a 23-year-old man also sustained injuries.
Both victims were evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital by emergency services, according to Mail Online.
The attacker, identified as a 42-year-old resident of Shuafat refugee camp with a criminal past, had previously been convicted of stone-throwing offences.
Local media reported that he was working as an outside contractor hired to wash dishes at the hotel.
An off-duty police officer from the Southern District, who was staying at the hotel during a family event, reportedly intervened and subdued the assailant without gunfire.
The officer said, “I was at a family event at the hotel when I noticed a crowd rushing out. I immediately realized something unusual was happening, so I shouted for people to stay calm and walk instead of running, the officer was quoted as saying.
“I drew my gun, grabbed identification for myself, and ran toward the direction the crowd had fled from.
“To minimize the risk to remaining civilians, I subdued the terrorist using only physical force, not gunfire. With the help of some others, we managed to pin him to the ground and put him in handcuffs.”
The officer said he later discovered his cousin was among the victims.
“I noticed a person had been stabbed in the upper body and gave him first aid. It was then I saw that my cousin had also been stabbed,” the officer said.
Several witnesses confirmed that the attacker shouted religious slogans before stabbing the victims.
A hotel guest told Arutz Sheva: “We were sitting to eat, there was suddenly a commotion, we didn’t understand what was happening.
“We saw someone holding a knife about to enter the balcony where we were, and an Arab employee, the dining room manager, caught him and saved us.”
Police confirmed that the suspect is in custody, and investigations into the attack are ongoing.
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