Suspect in apparent car-ramming attack arrested

Police question 30-year-old Palestinian over alleged vehicular assault that injured four cops in Jerusalem Saturday

Jerusalem Police and Border Police officers on Sunday arrested a Palestinian resident of the West Bank refugee camp of Shuafat, which borders Jerusalem to the north, on suspicion that he had carried out a deliberate car ramming attack in the capital on Saturday.

The suspect, 30, was transferred to Jerusalem police’s Central Unit offices for further questioning.

Four police officers were injured in the suspected attack on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

Magen David Adom paramedics said they treated a 20-year-old woman for moderate injuries, and a man and woman for minor injuries sustained after being struck by the vehicle.

The three were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment.

A fourth police officer was reported to be lightly wounded as well.

Emergency responders were forced to flee the scene after rocks and Molotov cocktails were thrown at them. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s car was also reportedly pelted with stones as he drove to the scene.

Following the attack, police fired at the ramming vehicle as it sped away. It was later found abandoned.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat seen inside an ambulance evacuating a wounded police officer from the scene where a Palestinian driver ran over several police men and women near the Arab neighborhood of A-Tur in East Jerusalem, on April 25, 2015. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 — Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat seen inside an ambulance evacuating a wounded police officer from the scene where a Palestinian driver ran over several police men and women near the Arab neighborhood of A-Tur in East Jerusalem, on April 25, 2015. (Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

If confirmed as a case of deliberate vehicular assault, Saturday evening’s incident would be the third attack on Israeli security personnel in a single day, and the second in the vicinity of the A-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

On Saturday morning, a Palestinian teen from A-Tur allegedly attempted to stab a Border Police officer at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem, near the West Bank town of Ma’ale Adumim.

An officer shot the knife-wielding 16-year-old dead.

Residents of A-Tur rioted Saturday afternoon, with one police officer lightly injured after being struck by a stone. Twenty rioters were reported injured in the clashes with police.

Later on Saturday, a Palestinian man stabbed a Border Police officer in the West Bank city of Hebron, inflicting moderate injuries before being shot dead by an Israeli soldier.

Police also closed Route 443, a main highway into Jerusalem which passes through the West Bank, to inbound traffic Saturday night after a bus caught fire. Police suspected that a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the vehicle, which sustained considerable damage. No injuries were reported in the fire.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.