Israel Palestine attack
File photo: Israeli border police patrol a street following a stabbing attack near the Herod's Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem Menahem Kahana/ AFP

A Palestinian man has stabbed an Israeli police officer in east Jerusalem, before being shot dead, police have said.

The officer, said to be in his 30s, was walking inside the Old City near Lions' Gate on Saturday (13 May) when the man attacked.

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A knife was then pulled out and the man stabbed the officer in the chest, but the officer managed to hold off the assailant off and fired his weapon.

The man was reportedly taken into custody, according to a Haartez report, but later died of his injuries.

The officer was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He is said to be recovering and in a stable condition.

However, social media footage captured immediately after the scene – too distressing for publication – shows the man lying face down on the ground, unconscious throughout.

The officer was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He is said to be recovering and in a stable condition.

A second man at the scene reportedly received a light wound to his arm.

The attack comes two days after Israeli prosecutors indicted a Palestinian man for the murder of a British exchange student in a stabbing in Jerusalem last month.

In that attack, Jamil Tamimi allegedly stabbed 21-year-old Hannah Bladon on the Jerusalem Light Rail, who later died of her injuries.