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A 21-year-old British woman on a university exchange in Israel has been stabbed to death on a tram in Jerusalem.
Key points:
- 21-year-old exchange student, Hannah Bladon, was attacked on a train carriage on the light rail network
- The man responsible is believed to have a history of mental illness
- The incident occurred near the Old City where Christians were celebrating Good Friday and Muslims held prayers nearby
Israel's ambassador to Britain, Mark Regev, named the victim as student Hannah Bladon on his Twitter account, adding that she was "murdered in a senseless act of terror".
The incident occurred in a train carriage on the light rail network near the walled Old City.
TV footage showed blood on the floor of the carriage with police officers restraining a man and carrying him away.
A paramedic for the Magen David Adom ambulance service said the woman had suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead in hospital.
The British Foreign Office in London said in a statement: "We can confirm the tragic death of a British national in Jerusalem. We are providing support for her family at this difficult time and are in touch with the local authorities."
Israeli media said Bladon was a 21-year-old exchange student studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
The University of Birmingham later confirmed Bladon was a student of the university on exchange.
"We are deeply saddened to hear about the death of our student Hannah Bladon, who was killed whilst on an exchange program in Jerusalem," the University of Birmingham said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences in a statement issued by his office.
The Shin Bet domestic security service identified the assailant as 57-year-old Jamil Tamimi and said he was a Palestinian from Arab East Jerusalem with mental health problems who was convicted in 2011 for sexually assaulting his daughter.
"This is one of many instances where a Palestinian suffering personal strife … chooses to carry out an attack in order to find release for his problems," the Shin Bet statement said.
Old City packed with Christians on Good Friday
The attack occurred as Christians marked Good Friday and Muslims held prayers at respective holy sites nearby.
Friday is sometimes a day of heightened tensions in Jerusalem's Old City, when tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers come to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
On Good Friday each year, Christians hold a procession along the Via Dolorosa in the Old City, retracing what they believe was the route that Jesus took to his crucifixion.
Apart from Friday's fatality, Palestinians have killed at least 37 Israelis and two visiting Americans since September 2015, mainly in stabbings, car ramming assaults and shooting attacks against civilians and security forces.
Israeli forces have killed at least 243 Palestinians during that time, most of them identified as attackers by Israeli authorities.
Israel says the bloodshed is fuelled by a Palestinian campaign of incitement, compounded by the glorification of attackers on social media. Palestinians say it stems from frustration over decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim for a state.
ABC/Wires
Topics: murder-and-manslaughter, law-crime-and-justice, israel, united-kingdom
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