JERUSALEM – A Palestinian knifeman attempted to stab Israeli border police officers at the Abu Dis checkpoint near Maale Adumim Tuesday afternoon, two miles away from where President Donald Trump was visiting Jerusalem.
No officers were reported injured. The attacker was shot and killed.
Security in Jerusalem and its surrounding environs was significantly tightened due to Trump’s arrival in the capital for an official state visit. Approximately 11,000 police officers have been deployed to secure the visit.
Meanwhile, violent clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli troops throughout the West Bank.
Palestinians declared Tuesday a “Day of Rage” to coincide with Trump’s meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.
The Palestinian Islamic and National Forces attacked the U.S. for “supporting the occupation” and said it rejected the Trump administration’s “intention to return to American-sponsored negotiations.”
Together with other West Bank factions, the group said in a statement that the proposed Day of Rage sought to send a message to the president that “the Palestinian people insist on their right to self-determination and national independence with east Jerusalem as its sovereign capital.”