One dead in Jerusalem rampage
One person died after a Palestinian man rammed a minivan into a crowded train platform in east Jerusalem yesterday and attacked people with an iron bar before being shot dead by police.
A total of 13 people were injured in what authorities called a terror attack. The militant Hamas group took responsibility for the attack – the second such assault in east Jerusalem in the past two weeks – which escalated already heightened tensions between Arabs and Jews in the city.
Earlier, Israeli police had dispersed dozens of masked Palestinians who threw rocks and firecrackers near a contested holy site.
Neighbouring Jordan called back its ambassador to Israel for consultations in protest over the violence in east Jerusalem.
Police identified the attacker as Ibrahim al-Akri, a 38-year-old Palestinian, recently released from prison after serving time for security offences.