Two seriously injured in possible car attack in Jerusalem

Two people were seriously injured in Jerusalem on Wednesday night after a car rammed into a bus stop in the city’s French Hill neighborhood.

Police initially believed the incident to be an accident, but were investigating the possibility that it was a nationalistically motivated terror attack. The car’s driver, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem, was lightly injured. He was being questioned by police.

The two victims were a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s. They were evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital under sedation for medical treatment. A Hadassah doctor told Israel Radio the two had suffered serious head injuries. Doctors were said to be fighting for their lives.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat arrived at the scene shortly after the incident to receive updates from the authorities.

The capital has seen a spate of car-ramming attacks over the past year, in which Palestinian “lone-wolf” assailants have used their vehicles as a weapon to mow down Israeli civilians. Such attacks are usually spontaneous and are not thought to be orchestrated by terrorist organizations.