Palestinian assailant injures 5 in Israel

Associated Press

JERUSALEM

A Palestinian rammed his car into a group of Israeli pedestrians near a border police station in east Jerusalem on Friday, injuring four officers and a bystander, police said.

He then lunged at security guards with a knife before being shot and wounded. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri described the incident as a “terror attack.”

Police identified the attacker as Mohammed Salaymeh, a 22-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem. A woman that Israeli Channel 2 TV identified as Salaymeh’s mother justified the attack, saying it was “natural” that a young person would carry out such an attack because of tensions in Jerusalem.

The attack took place at the same intersection where a Palestinian man rammed his car into a crowded train platform in November and then attacked people with an iron bar, killing one person and injuring 13.

Police say it is difficult to prevent such attacks, which appear to be carried out by “lone wolf” assailants not linked to militant groups.

“The swift and determined response stopped the attack as it was beginning and prevented more innocents from being injured,” said Moshe Edri, a regional police commander.