Jerusalem
02 July 2008
At least four people were killed and about 40 others injured when aPalestinian bulldozer driver went on a deadly rampage in downtownJerusalem. The man was killed by an off-duty soldier and police saythe incident was a terrorist attack. VOA's Jim Teeple reports fromJerusalem.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos and panic asthe bulldozer plowed over cars, knocked over a city bus and damagedbuildings on busy Jaffa Road near the city's main bus station.
Thedriver was shot by an off-duty soldier, one of several people whoclimbed onto the bulldozer in an effort to stop the rampage. Policespokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told VOA the incident was clearly aterrorist attack and the bulldozer driver was heading for Jerusalem'smain food market.
"Police officers arrived on the scene andattempted to stop the killings," he said. "We clearly understood thatit was a terrorist attack by the way that he continued to try and makehis way to the market, and therefore it was critical to stop him fromcontinuing in the direction of the market."
Rosenfeld says theman driving the bulldozer was a Palestinian with an East Jerusalemidentity card. The area where the incident took place is aconstruction site with a new light rail system and road wideningprojects under way. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem haveaccess to Jewish West Jerusalem and carry out nearly all constructionwork in the city.
This was the second terrorist attack thisyear. In March, an East Jerusalem man attacked a Jewish seminarykilling eight students. Rosenfeld says just like that attack there wasno prior warning.
"There were no specific warnings that anattack was going to take place, but immediately after this incident thesecurity level was heightened, both in Jerusalem and in other cities,"he said.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who have carriedout many terrorist attacks inside Israel said they were not responsiblefor the bulldozer incident and police say they are trying to determineif the man acted by himself."
The attack took place as a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip enters its second week.
On Wednesday Israel reopened cargo crossing points into Gaza.
Meanwhile,hundreds of Palestinians tried, but failed, to break through the Gazacrossing point between Egypt and Gaza. The crowd surged past Hamasguards at the border, but was beaten back by Egyptian troops who usedwater cannons to disperse the Palestinians.
Egypt says it willopen the crossing once Hamas and other Palestinian militants agree togo along with an Egyptian mediated prisoner swap between Israel andHamas that would free an Israeli soldier in exchange for hundreds ofPalestinian militants.