A 3-month-old girl was killed and eight people were injured when a car crashed into a light rail station in Jerusalem.
The suspected terror attack, captured on security camera video, occurred on Oct. 22 at the Ammunition Hill station in northern Jerusalem as passengers were disembarking from the train. Several of the injured passengers reportedly are American citizens.
The driver of the car attempted to flee the scene on foot and was shot by police. Israeli media have published unconfirmed reports naming the driver as a former Palestinian prisoner from the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, which has been a recent source of Arab-Jewish tension.
The infant girl, identified as Haya Zissel, died at the Hadassah hospital on Mount Scopus of her wounds. The driver reportedly was hospitalized with serious wounds.
The infant’s grandfather, Shimshon Halperin of Israel, told reporters later that the baby was born after her parents had tried for years to conceive with no success. The family was returning from the Western Wall when they attack occurred, he said.
The light rail has come under attack in recent weeks by stone-throwing Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the attack.
The Prime Minister’s Office spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, on his official Twitter feed identified the driver of the car as a Hamas member.
Netanyahu in a statement referred to the fact that Abbas’ Fatah party recently formed a unity government with Hamas.
"This is how Abu Mazen’s partners in government act, the same Abu Mazen who — only a few days ago — incited toward a terrorist attack in Jerusalem," the prime minister said, using Abbas’ nom de guerre.
After the attack, which was captured on security camera video, Palestinians and Israeli forces clashed in Silwan, which has been a recent source of Arab-Jewish tension. Israeli security forces also reportedly raided the home of the suspect in the attack, Abdelrahman al-Shaludi, who is the nephew of Mohiyedine Sharif, the former head of Hamas’ armed wing who was killed in 1988.
Netanyahu ordered tightened security in Jerusalem. The city’s mayor, Nir Barkat, called for the reinforcement of police forces in order to "restore peace and security."
"As I have said for months, the situation in Jerusalem is intolerable and we must act unequivocally against all violence taking place in the city," he said in a statement. "Today, more than ever, it is clear that we must send police forces into neighborhoods where there are disturbances, placing them strategically and widely in significant numbers."
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