Palestinian attack in Jerusalem injures five

A Palestinian motorist rammed his vehicle into a group of people standing near a Jerusalem tram stop on Friday, injuring at least five, including four security officials, Israeli police said.

None of those hit was seriously injured.

The incident, which police said they were treating as a terrorist attack, took place on a main road in East Jerusalem, the predominantly Arab side of the city, close to an Israeli border police station.

After crashing his vehicle, the driver got out and attempted to stab passersby with a knife before he was shot and wounded by police from the nearby station, police said.

"The incident was apparently a deliberate attack," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, adding that the driver had been taken to hospital in a serious condition.

The incident took place on the Jewish holiday of Purim, when the streets are busy with pedestrians.

Last October and November, there was a spate of similar attacks, with Palestinian drivers ramming their vehicles into people waiting at the city's light-rail stops. Those attacks killed three people and wounded around a dozen.

Tensions flared in Jerusalem last year, both before and after the Gaza war, but the city has been relatively calm in recent months.

On Thursday, the Palestine Liberation Organization agreed to suspend security coordination with Israel in the occupied West Bank, which officials are concerned could have a knock-on impact on security throughout the territory.

The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- which have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war -- and in Gaza, a strip of land on the Mediterranean coast that is separated from the West Bank.

related articles
Israel-Palestine: it\'s not a religious conflict, says Amos Trust
Israel-Palestine: it's not a religious conflict, says Amos Trust

Israel-Palestine: it's not a religious conflict, says Amos Trust

Jerusalem: Christian centre torched in arson attack
Jerusalem: Christian centre torched in arson attack

Jerusalem: Christian centre torched in arson attack

Jews win right to pray on Temple Mount
Jews win right to pray on Temple Mount

Jews win right to pray on Temple Mount

News
Blackburn Cathedral puts the Bible where it belongs
Blackburn Cathedral puts the Bible where it belongs

Blackburn Cathedral’s celebration of William Tyndale highlights the Bible’s central place in Anglican worship.

Anglican bishop reminds world that Ebola is still gripping DRC
Anglican bishop reminds world that Ebola is still gripping DRC

Ignorance and poverty have compounded the effects of Ebola.

Rights groups call for review of laws impacting free speech
Rights groups call for review of laws impacting free speech

The government supports your right to agree with it.

Scottish Greens' call for total decriminalisation of abortion denounced
Scottish Greens' call for total decriminalisation of abortion denounced

The Greens have called upon the SNP government to move forward with the recommendations of the Scottish Abortion Law Reform Expert Group.