Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Policeman killed in Jerusalem car attack

US Secretary of State John Kerry has condemned a Jerusalem hit-and-run attack by a Palestinian driver as a "terrorist act" that "only raises tensions".

20141106001056594561-original.jpg
Palestinians burn tires during clashes with Israeli border police in east Jerusalem on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014. Clashes broke out after a Palestinian driver rammed a minivan into a crowded train station. He then backed out and proceeded to drive away, hitting several cars along the way, then got out of the car and attacked a group of civilians and police officers on the side of the road with a metal bar, killing one and wounding 13, before he was shot and killed. (AAP)

A Palestinian has killed a border policeman and wounded nine other people after slamming his car into pedestrians in Jerusalem.

The rampage came hours after clashes between police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and sparked even more violence in east Jerusalem.

Police described the car incident, which took place on the line between west Jerusalem and the city's annexed Arab east, as a "hit and run terror attack".

And hours later, in the occupied West Bank, the army reported another car assault, in which three soldiers were run down.

Police said they were hit in "a terrorist attack" by a vehicle with Palestinian licence plates as they stood guard outside El-Arub Palestinian refugee camp, south of Bethlehem.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"One is in critical condition, two with moderate wounds," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said on his official Twitter account.

He said that the driver fled but what appeared to be the vehicle was later found abandoned.

In the Jerusalem incident, driver Ibrahim al-Akari, whom police identified as a Palestinian from Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, hit two groups of pedestrians before getting out of the vehicle and attacking passers-by with an iron bar.

He was shot dead by police.

Citing security concerns, police ordered his family to bury him shortly before midnight and limited the number of mourners to 35.

The Jerusalem attack mirrored an incident on the same road on October 22 when a Palestinian rammed his car into a group of pedestrians, killing a young woman and a baby.

Shortly after the new attack, clashes broke out in both Shuafat refugee camp and Issawiya, also in east Jerusalem.

US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the attack as a "terrorist act" that "only raises tensions" in the tinderbox region.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini urged both sides to show restraint and called Wednesday's attack "painful evidence of the need to undertake serious efforts towards a sustainable peace agreement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

But the attack was hailed by the Islamist Hamas movement, which described Akari as a "hero" whose actions were a "natural response" to Israel's actions at the Al-Aqsa compound.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas of encouraging such attacks by sending condolences to the family of a Palestinian shot dead by police last week over the attempted assassination of hardline rabbi Yehuda Glick.


3 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world