Minivan attack at train station kills one in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM – In a fresh outbreak of violence in Jerusalem, one person was killed and at least a dozen were injured Wednesday when a Palestinian rammed his vehicle into pedestrians at a light-rail stop.

Witnesses said a white van struck several police officers, pedestrians and cars before stalling at a nearby traffic light. The driver then got out and began attacking passers-by with a crowbar before a police officer shot him to death.

One victim, identified as border patrol officer Jaddan Assad, a 38-year-old Druze, died shortly after the incident, which authorities described as a terrorist attack. Thirteen people were taken to hospitals throughout Jerusalem with various injuries; several were listed in serious condition.

Shortly after the attack, Israeli news media named the slain driver as Ibrahim Akkri, a resident of the sprawling Shuafat refugee camp in northeast Jerusalem. Local reports described him as a supporter of the militant group Hamas and said his brother, Mousa, had been deported to Turkey after his release from an Israeli prison as part of a 2011 prisoner swap for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The incident was followed by clashes in Palestinian neighborhoods as protesters threw rocks and firebombs and scuffled with police. Later, police said a hunt was underway for a Palestinian vehicle that hit three Israeli soldiers near Bethlehem. The three were hospitalized in Jerusalem.

The van incident was the latest in a chain of violent attacks in Jerusalem and similar to an attack two weeks ago in which a Palestinian driver plowed into a group of Jewish pedestrians at a light-rail stop and killed a 3-month-old baby.

In response to the latest assault, police began installing concrete barriers at such stops.