Israeli border guard injured in knife attack in Jerusalem: police

An Israeli border policeman was injured in a knife attack at a gate to Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday evening, police said.

The attack took place near the Damascus Gate within the historic walls of the Old City.

“The stabbed officer suffered minor injuries and was evacuated for medical treatment,” police said in a statement.

“Border police officers confronted the terrorist, neutralized him by shooting him and quickly ended the attack,” police said.

Tensions between Palestinians and Israeli Jews are common in the Old City and have only worsened since the Gaza war began over eleven months ago.

In a separate statement, Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the 20-year-old officer suffered an injury to his upper body.

“The terrorist who tried to escape to the old town was neutralized,” police said.

Police and border guards are on site and investigating the incident, it said.

Jerusalem, and especially the Old City, is a holy city for the three Abrahamic religions and remains a central issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel claims Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, but the United Nations and the international community consider Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem to be illegal.

The Palestinians seek to make occupied East Jerusalem, which includes the walled Old City and its holy sites, the capital of a future independent state.