JERUSALEM—A 19-year-old Israeli Border Police officer was killed today outside of the Damascus Gate to the Old City, and a second officer was wounded while preventing what could have been a catastrophic attack on civilians by three terrorists armed with explosives, assault weapons and knives.
Cpl. Hadar Cohen and her colleague, who has not been identified by authorities, were shot and stabbed by the terrorists, who attacked them when the terrorists were asked to identify themselves.
Police later concluded that the terrorists—identified as Palestinian Arabs from the Jenin area in northern Samaria—were waiting for a large group of Jews to enter the Old City, at which point they would have launched a major assault.
Border Police official Shlomi Yosef praised Cohen, who became an officer just two months ago, for her “heroic” and “determined” response.
He says she managed to shoot the first attacker who opened fire. The other gunmen were killed by Israeli police in the area.
Cohen is survived by her parents, and a brother and sister.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
