Israeli Border Police officers stand by a main road, in downtown Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.

i24 News – An Israeli police officer was lightly injured during an attempted stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday afternoon, according to the Israel Police.

The suspect, a 50-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem, was shot and arrested by officers before being able to carry out the knife attack. The attacker later died at the hospital, according to a Hadassah Medical Center spokeswoman.

The incident occurred at the Majlis Gate entrance to the Temple Mount where police and border guards are stationed.

The suspect tried to stab the police and border officers and was “neutralized” by other officers at the spot of the attack.

During the shooting of the terrorist suspect, a police officer was lightly injured in the leg by the ricochet of a bullet fired at the assailant.

Hamas praised the attempted stabbing attack in a statement, calling the “heroic operation” a response to the recent unrest at Israeli prisons and saying that “in the coming days we will see another uprising of our people for the sake of the prisoners and the holy places.”

The Israel Police on Friday were preparing for possible violence after Hamas declared a “Day of Rage” in support of six fugitives who on Monday escaped from Gilboa Prison in northern Israel and were still on the run as of Friday.

Israel Police raised the alert level across Israel to 3, the second highest.

The six escaped inmates, all sentenced to life in prison for their crimes, dug their way out of jail. They worked on the tunnel that allowed them to escape for more than a year, after discovering a structural flaw in the construction of the prison.

Five of the escapees are members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and one is a Fatah commander. All are considered dangerous prisoners and were charged in connection to numerous terror attacks.