BICOM

14 people were injured, including a 15-month-old baby yesterday afternoon, when a Palestinian man rammed his car into a crowd of commuters in Jerusalem.

The attack happened at around 3pm, near the city’s central bus station, a busy commuter area. The car, driven by 21-year-old Abed Almohsin Hassoneh from Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem, ploughed into a group of people at a bus stop. However, before Hassoneh could exit the vehicle, a member of the security services, a security guard and a civilian arrived on the scene and shot him dead. Searching his car, Israeli security personnel discovered an axe, indicating that Hassoneh intended to continue the attack and cause additional harm. All of the wounded were swiftly evacuated to hospital and the injured baby is in danger of having a limb amputated.

Yesterday’s attack was the latest in a wave of violence, which has killed at least 21 Israelis since the start of October. Last week, in a similar incident, a terrorist drove his car into a young man in Jerusalem and then stabbed a policeman, before being shot by a passing soldier. Over the weekend, a Palestinian opened fire on Israelis in the West Bank, while two Israelis were injured in a stabbing in Hebron last week.

Following yesterday’s attack, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz. A directive was issued to fortify vulnerable bus stops in Jerusalem, to guard against similar attacks. It follows the deployment on Sunday of a 300-strong unit of security guards equipped with handguns on Jerusalem’s busses and public transportation routes. Meanwhile, it was confirmed yesterday that two reservist battalions will be sent to the West Bank next month to help tackle the current violence.

Netanyahu yesterday called the attacks “a new type of terror by individuals which challenges us and other countries,” but added, “I have no doubt that eventually we will overcome it.”