Eight pedestrians were injured when an Arab terrorist rammed his vehicle into them near the city’s crowded Mahneh Yehuda Market, less than a half-mile from TV7 Israel studios.
By Erin Viner
The driver “accelerated and deliberately hit a number of pedestrians, some of whom were crossing the road,” said police. The attack caused the collision of other moving vehicles.
The terrorist, 39-year-old Hatem Abu Nijma, a father of five from the Beit Safafa neighborhood, was shot and killed by an armed civilian. Police said its initial investigations indicated that the car ramming was a deliberate attack but that checks of the suspect’s medical background are being carried out.
Among the victims was a man in his 70s in serious but stable condition, one woman in her 30s in moderate condition and another six people who sustained light injuries. After receiving immediate care at the scene, they were rushed to the Sha’are Zedek and Hadassah Ein Kerem medical centers in Jerusalem.
“A few minutes ago, not far from here, there was another attempt to murder Israeli citizens. This terrorist attack, in this place, at this time, reminds us that the land of Israel and the State of Israel are acquired through many trials and tribulations,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of Memorial Day ceremonies.
“The first attack was over 160 years ago, and many have followed since then. They hope to drive us out of here, but we have established a state with a glorious army and security forces. However, this glory comes at a heartbreaking cost,” he stressed.
During a later telephone call, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir congratulated the civilian for his swift, lifesaving actions.
“The State of Israel thanks you for preventing a very big disaster,” Ben-Gvir said, adding that his plan to increase guns permits will buffer the public’s ability to defend themselves.
A spokesman for the Islamist Hamas terror group lauded the attack, proclaiming that the deliberate ramming of vehicles into Israeli civilians is “a legitimate response” to what it deceitfully referred to as “the Zionist religious war” against sacred sites of Islam and Christianity.
In a separate incident, a passenger in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates opened fire at an Israeli joggers at a junction on Route 60. The highway is the main north-south road in Samaria that passes several Jewish communities.
Israel’s ambulance service said it treated a 28-year-old with a hand injury before transferring him to hospital. He had been running with a group in memory of fallen soldiers, as Israelis commemorated Memorial Day.
The IDF and the Israel Security Agency immediately launched a manhunt after the suspected terrorists.
Palestinian violence has surged this year, amid frequent military raids as part of Operation Waves Breaker to root out terrorism. At least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been murdered with dozens of others severely wounded in Israel since January.