TWO guests have been stabbed at a hotel in Israel before the attacker was tackled by an off-duty cop.
Emergency services rushed to Kibbutz Tzuba in the Jerusalem Hills on Friday after a 60-year-old and 23-year-old were wounded in the attack.
ReutersAn Israeli police officer checks the scene where a suspected stabbing attack took place[/caption]
EPAIsraeli police officers work at the scene of a stabbing incident at a hotel[/caption]
ReutersAn emergency personnel checks the scene[/caption]
The assault took place at a hotel in Tzuba, an Israeli kibbutz less than 10 kilometres west of Jerusalem, medics said.
Two victims were rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital where they were treated for stab wounds.
The suspect is a 42-year-old resident from the Shuafat camp, a refugee camp in east Jerusalem which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
An out-of-duty police officer, who was staying at the hotel, restrained the suspect before he was arrested, cops said.
He told local media: “I was at a family event at the hotel when I noticed a crowd rushing out.
“I immediately realized something unusual was happening, so I shouted for people to stay calm and walk instead of running.
“I drew my gun, grabbed identification for myself, and ran toward the direction the crowd had fled from.
“To minimize the risk to remaining civilians, I subdued the terrorist using only physical force, not gunfire.
“With the help of some others, we managed to pin him to the ground and put him in handcuffs.”
Locals reported hearing the attacker shouting “Allahu akbar” before launching his assault.
A hotel guest told Arutz Sheva: “We were sitting to eat, there was suddenly a commotion, we didn’t understand what was happening.
“We saw someone holding a knife about to enter the balcony where we were, and an Arab employee, the dining room manager, caught him and saved us.”
Israel‘s Magen David Adom emergency service said: “EMT (emergency medical technician) and paramedics are treating two stabbing victims and evacuating them to hospital, including a 60-year-old male in serious condition and a 23-year-old male in moderate condition.”
Israeli police said an individual “from the Shuafat area carried out a stabbing attack against guests at a hotel in Kibbutz Tzuba, injuring them”.