JERUSALEM — A Palestinian stabbed a young British woman to death in Jerusalem as she traveled on the light rail close to the Old City, which was packed with Christians from around the world celebrating Good Friday and Jews enjoying Passover, police and hospital officials said.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that as the tram approached City Hall, the Palestinian pulled a knife out of his bag and stabbed the woman in her early 20s multiple times in the upper body.

An off-duty policeman, who was riding the tram with his family, pulled the emergency brake and charged at the Palestinian attacker, Samri said.

The 57-year-old Palestinian attacker had a history of mental illness, Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service said.

The Hebrew University in Jerusalem said the woman killed, Hannah Bladon, was studying at the school as part of a student exchange program with the University of Birmingham.

She started her studies in Jerusalem at the end of January, the university said. ‘‘We extend our deepest condolences to her family and we share in their sorrow,’’ it said in a statement.

Associated Press