The2017 Jerusalem Light Rail stabbing was a stabbing attack and suspected act of terrorism that occurred onGood Friday,[1] 14 April 2017, onJerusalem Light Rail's car. In the attack, a 20 year old British student was stabbed to death by Jamil Tamimi, a Palestinian man. Two others, including a pregnant woman, were injured in the incident.[2] The attacker was arrested and was deemed competent to stand trial.
The attack occurred at about 1:00 pm 14 April 2017, as a knife-wielding man stabbed a 21 year old British exchange student. An off-duty police officer riding the light rail pulled an emergency brake and tackled the perpetrator, who was then arrested.[4]
According to Israel's domestic security service,Shin Bet, the attacker was known to the authorities and the attack may have also involved a "suicide by soldier" motivation,[5] as attributed to other incidents in the last 18 months,[6] "This is yet another case of a Palestinian suffering from personal, mental or moral distress choosing to commit an act of terror to escape his problems."[7]
After his arrest, the perpetrator reportedly told investigators that he stabbed Bladon because he wanted the soldier standing beside her to kill him.[8][9]
The accused, Jamil Tamimi (57) a Palestinian Arab from theRas al-Amud neighborhood of East Jerusalem who was known to security services; according to security services the accused was convicted of molesting his daughter in 2011.[14][15][7][16][17][18] The accused had been admitted in the past toKfar Shaul Mental Health Center, and a day before the attack he voluntarily admitted himself to a mental health treatment center in northern Israel from which he was expelled following a violent assault on a person.[5][19][20] On the morning of the attack he spoke to one of his sons who told him that the entire family wanted no contacted with him. He reportedly told investigators he had "nothing left to lose", and that he had purchased a knife inthe Old City, before boarding a train close toDamascus Gate.[17] Following the attack, the accused was sent for a mental examination by a psychiatrist.[21] Psychiatric examiners judged him mentally fit to stand trial,[17] and he was subsequently charged with premeditated murder.[22][14][23]
Trial and sentencing
Tamimi confessed to having committed the murder, acknowledged his mental illness, apologized, and entered a plea-bargain under which he will serve 18 years in prison.[24] Hanna Bladon's family was "outraged" by the lenient sentence, arguing that the murderer ought to have been incarcerated for life.[25] In January 2019, the Jerusalem District Court formally sentenced him to 18 years in prison.[26]
On 26 January 2022, Tamimi was found dead in his cell at the Nitzan Prison.[27]
Impact
In response to this and other recentlone wolf attack, Israeli police have revamped their anti-terrorism tactics, increasing monitoring of social media, improving the intercommunication of mobile devices, and giving security agencies to instantly trace phone calls made such devices.[28]
Response
Prime Minister of IsraelBenjamin Netanyahu said: "Radical Islamic terrorism is striking world capitals. Regretfully, terrorism struck today in Israel's capital – Jerusalem."[5]
Israeli PresidentReuven Rivlin said "The bitter news of the young woman’s death in a terror attack in Jerusalem fills me with deep sorrow."[7]
Mark Regev Israeli ambassador to the UK, said "My thoughts are with the family and friends of UK student Hannah Bladon, who was murdered in a senseless act of terror in Jerusalem today.".[5][29]
A spokesman for theHebrew University condemned "such acts of terror that harm innocent people, and especially a student who came to Jerusalem to study and widen her academic horizons."[30]
Right Revd DrMichael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield, expressed "deep sadness," over the killing.[31]
^"המחבל סולק לפני הפיגוע מהוסטל בשל תקיפה; מצבו הנפשי ייבחן" [Terrorist expelled from hostel due to violence; mental state to be examined].Walla! (in Hebrew). 16 April 2017. Retrieved30 April 2017.The hearing revealed that Tamimi had recently been hospitalized at the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center. A day before the attack, he went to a treatment center in the north, where he was hospitalized voluntarily. According to his lawyer, attorney Muhammad Mahmud, he attacked another person and was subsequently expelled.
