BICOM

A Hamas supporter carried out a vehicle attack on commuters in Jerusalem yesterday which killed one and injured 14. It was followed by a similar incident in the West Bank, as a truck rammed into a group of three soldiers, causing serious injury.

The first attack took place around lunchtime, when a vehicle ploughed into commuters at the light rail station on Shimon Hatzadik Street, which straddles the edges of West and East Jerusalem. After crashing his car into the waiting crowd, the assailant exited the vehicle and attacked pedestrians with an iron bar before being shot dead by security forces. One man was killed in the attack, a Druze Border Policeman and 14 were injured. The 38-year-old attacker was a Hamas supporter from the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Shuafat. Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum praised the “glorious operation” and called for more such attacks.

The attack followed a similar incident two weeks ago, when a three-month-old baby and an Ecuadorian woman were killed after a car rammed waiting passengers at another light railway stop close to yesterday’s attack. The terror attacks come as extreme tension and unrest continues in Jerusalem with clashes between local youths and security forces in Arab neighbourhoods taking place daily. Last week, a local Palestinian attempted to assassinate a well-known campaigner for greater Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, holy to both Muslims and Jews. The site has become a major flashpoint and was briefly closed yesterday after Israeli forces reached the al-Aqsa Mosque itself to quell a crowd hurling rocks and fireworks. Jordan subsequently recalled its ambassador in protest at Israel’s actions.

Meanwhile late last night, a second vehicle attack took place. A truck with Palestinian licence plates veered into three Israeli soldiers in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank. One was seriously wounded and the other two taken to hospital in moderate condition. The attacker escaped the scene and the IDF launched a hunt for the culprit.