Three injured in Jerusalem in alleged car ramming attack

Israeli police said they had arrested two suspects after the Monday incident on Techelet Mordechai street in Jerusalem.
2 min read
The incident took place in Jerusalem on Monday morning [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty]

Israeli police said they had arrested two suspects who had reportedly rammed a car into a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem on Monday, lightly wounding three.

The police said the two suspects were found after fleeing the scene and hiding near a closed business.

The alleged incident occurred on Techelet Mordechai Street in Jerusalem on a day when Israeli Jews marked the start of the Passover holidays.

Footage from security cameras of the reported attack posted on several Israeli news websites showed a white car ramming into a group of people at a street corner. 

The car later hits another parked vehicle after which two men step out, with one of the attackers seen attempting to fire a gun, according to the footage which TNA could not independently verify.

Hours after the incident, Israeli police alleged that two men had been arrested, without providing details of their identities.

After an extensive search, the security forces were "directed to a closed business where the two terrorists were found hiding", a separate statement by the police said.

The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that Israeli forces raided the home of Hatem Al-Qawasmeh in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, saying he was accused of carrying out the ramming attack.

Local sources said Israeli forces stormed the young man's home and began searching it, while entrances to the city of Hebron and the checkpoints in the Old City area were closed.

Several car-ramming attacks have been reported since last year, including in settlements in the West Bank.

Violence by Israeli forces in settlers in the territory has seen a sharp uptick since Israel launched its war on Gaza.

Israel's military offensive in the strip has so far killed at least 34,151 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.