Palestinian ploughs truck into soldiers, killing 4

A PALESTINIAN rammed a truck into a group of Israeli soldiers visiting a popular tourist spot in Jerusalem yesterday, killing four and wounding at least 15 people, authorities said.

The driver was also killed in what Israeli police were calling an attack at the location overlooking holy sites in the Old City such as the Dome of the Rock and providing one of the most spectacular views of Jerusalem.

Chaos broke out at the scene when the truck ploughed through the crowd, with hundreds of soldiers having arrived there as part of a tour for troops about the history of Jerusalem.

“A lone terrorist drove his truck into a group of soldiers standing on the side of the road,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. “They got off the bus, and as they were getting off the bus and getting organised, he took advantage.”

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the driver was killed by Israeli forces, without specifying whether it was soldiers or police.

Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the windshield of the truck.

Police only confirmed four people were dead, however a medic at the scene said they were soldiers.

Video said to be of the incident being shared online showed a flatbed truck with a crane in the rear drive through a group of soldiers standing next to a bus. The driver then pulls off to the side and tries to reverse back towards where the soldiers were hit before the truck eventually comes to a stop.

Ambulances rushed to the location and video showed visitors, including soldiers, running for cover as the incident began. Bodies were later covered in sheets.

Besides treating the wounded, rescue workers also began providing immediate psychological care to traumatised soldiers, said Miriam Ballan of the United Hatzalah rescue service.

Palestinian security officials in the West Bank city of Ramallah said the driver was a Palestinian in his late 20s from the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with the Israeli occupation and settlement-building in the West Bank, comatose peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have helped feed the unrest.