June 2017 Jerusalem Attack

Israeli authorities identified the attackers as Adel Ankush, Bra’a Salah, and Usama, also rendered Asama, Ahmed.[2][5] Reports agreed that Ankush and Salah were from Deir Abu-Mashal, near Ramallah in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — but differed over whether Ahmed also lived there or in nearby Tsatfa Ata.[2][5] They were 18–19 years old.[2] Army Radio reporting cited by The Times of Israel said they had apparently planned the attack for at least two months; the Shin Bet said all three had previously been arrested for or involved in terrorist activity.[6][5]

Hadas Malka was a 23-year-old Border Police career-service commander from Giv’at Ezer in the Be’er Tuvia Regional Council.[1][2] She had begun her military service in the navy but sought a transfer to the Border Police because she believed she could contribute more there.[7] After completing mandatory service, she remained in the force, joining its career-service ranks about 15 months before the attack.[2] She had recently begun a fitness training course at the Wingate Institute.[7]

On Friday evening, June 16, two attackers approached police and Border Police officers near Zedekiah’s Cave on Sultan Suleiman Street, while a third attacked near Damascus Gate, approximately 100 meters away.[2] The near-simultaneous assaults involved an automatic firearm and knives.[1][2] The first two terrorists attacked the officers near Zedekiah’s Cave and were shot dead by police.[1][2]

Malka and other officers responded to the gunfire.[2] The third attacker repeatedly stabbed her as she struggled with him and tried to draw her weapon.[2] The struggle lasted several seconds before other officers saw the attack, opened fire, and killed him.[2] Malka sustained critical injuries and was taken to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, where she later died.[1]

Four other people were injured or treated during the incident: a police officer sustained a minor eye injury, two civilians suffered moderate gunshot or penetrating injuries, and a young woman was treated for anxiety.[1] All three attackers were killed at the scene.[1]

The subsequent investigation examined how the cell had formed, obtained firearms, and planned the coordinated attack without detection.[2] Its findings concerning Malka’s struggle later formed the basis for a posthumous police commendation.[8]

The day after the attack, Israeli forces temporarily sealed off Deir Abu-Mashal, searched the attackers’ homes, confiscated documents, and questioned family members.[6] They also mapped the homes in preparation for possible demolition.[6] During the operation, approximately 200 Palestinians threw rocks and Molotov cocktails and burned tires; one person was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack.[6] Passage into and out of the village area was restricted to humanitarian cases.[2]

Following a telephone security assessment involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich, and other officials, the government canceled permits allowing Palestinians from the West Bank to visit relatives in Israel during Ramadan.[2] Permits for entry to attend Ramadan prayers remained valid.[2] Netanyahu also instructed police to reinforce security arrangements and checking procedures in the plaza around Damascus Gate.[4]

On August 10, Israeli authorities demolished three homes in Deir Abu-Mashal belonging to the attackers’ families.[9] These demolitions formed part of the broader Israeli practice of punitive demolition of assailants’ family homes.[9]

Malka was buried in Ashdod on Saturday night following the attack.[7] In 2018, she was posthumously awarded a police commissioner’s commendation.[8] The investigation found that her resistance exposed the attacker’s location and stopped the killing spree; a senior Border Police official credited her actions with saving lives.[8]

The BBC initially headlined its report “Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem,” then changed it over the weekend to “Israeli policewoman stabbed to death in Jerusalem.”[3] The broadcaster accepted that the original headline “did not appropriately reflect the nature of the events,” adding that “there was no intention to mislead our audiences, we regret any offense caused.”[3]

Islamic State’s announcement was its first claim of responsibility for an attack in Jerusalem.[10] Amaq News Agency first described the perpetrators as Islamic State soldiers, and a follow-up statement used the aliases Abul-Bara al-Maqdisi, Abul-Hassan al-Maqdisi, and Abu Riyah al-Maqdisi.[5] The statement also threatened that the attack would not be the last.[5]

Later U.S. terrorism reporting distinguished between organizational membership and a responsibility claim: it described two assailants as PFLP members while noting that ISIS claimed the attack, without establishing ISIS’s operational role.[11]

Hamas rejected Islamic State’s claim, asserting that two attackers belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and one to Hamas.[5] In the immediate aftermath, the Shin Bet had not verified links to Islamic State or other groups, and Israeli officials said there was no indication of Islamic State involvement or organizational direction.[4] The reported memberships therefore did not establish who, if anyone, operationally directed the attack.[4][11]

The punitive home demolitions also drew disagreement: nongovernmental organizations criticized the practice as collective punishment, while the Israeli government maintained that it deterred would-be attackers.[9] Broader figures for punitive demolitions reported in 2017 recorded 36 displaced Palestinians, including 19 children; those totals were not specific to the homes demolished after this attack.[9]