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British tourist fatally stabbed in Jerusalem, police say

Posted at 11:51 AM, Apr 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-14 11:51:35-04

JERUSALEM — A British tourist was stabbed to death Friday afternoon on the Jerusalem light rail line, Israeli police said.

Paramedics rushed the 25-year-old woman to the hospital, authorities said, but she died shortly after arriving. The Israeli Embassy in the UK confirmed the victim was British.

The embassy said in a tweet: “Our thoughts are with those who were injured and the family of the British woman who was killed in the terror attack in Jerusalem today.”

A suspect was arrested at the scene. Security officials identified him as Jameel Tamimi, a 57-year-old Palestinian man from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud.

Tamimi suffers from “personal, mental, or moral hardship,” according to the Israel Security Agency.

According to the agency, Tamimi was convicted of sexually abusing his daughter in 2011 and attempted to commit suicide this year by swallowing a razor blade.

The attack comes during the Easter and Passover holidays when police are on heightened alert because of the increase in tourism.