Israeli medics evacuate a wounded woman
from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem July 2, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
JERUSALEM, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A bulldozer went on a
deadly rampage in Jerusalem early Wednesday afternoon, ramming into several
cars, overturning a crowded bus, killing at least three people and injuring
dozens.
The bulldozer, which hit several vehicles as well as
pedestrians along its way, slammed into and knocked over the bus with 35 people
on board near the old Central Bus Station in the northwestern part of downtown
Jerusalem, in what the police said was definitely a terror attack.
Three women were killed and over 30 injured in the
attacks, according to local dailies The Jerusalem Post and Yedioth Ahronoth.
Another newspaper Ha'aretz put the death toll at four. One of the dead was a
woman driving a Toyota when her car was smashed by the bulldozer.
The bulldozer driver, identified as a Palestinian
resident of east Jerusalem with an Israeli identification card, was shot dead by
an elite policeman who climbed up the moving construction vehicle and opened
fire, said the police, which rushed to the scene along with the Maged David Adom
(MDA) rescue services.
Israeli sources said at least 46 were admitted to
hospitals, among whom about a dozen were either seriously or moderately wounded.
Witnesses said the driver struggled briefly with two
policemen before being killed. Another elite policemen was lightly wounded,
apparently by gunfire, indicating that the driver was armed.
An Israeli woman carries a wounded baby at the scene of an attack in Jerusalem July 2, 2008. A Palestinian construction worker rammed an earthmoving vehicle into buses and cars on one of west Jerusalem's busiest streets on Wednesday, killing three Israelis and wounding more than 40 before he was shot dead. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
BEEF UP
SECURITY
A state of emergency was declared in Jerusalem
following the violence, which marked the first terror attack in Jerusalem since
a gunman killed eight students in a religious school in March.
The motive of the latest attacks is still unknown,
and there has been no immediate claim of responsibility.
The Jerusalem Post identified the driver as Jabr
Duwait, a 32-year-old father of two, who the police said had a criminal record.
The bulldozer was apparently being used for construction work on the Jerusalem
light rail project.
"My son never spoke of plans to carry out such an
attack. If he had, I would have tried to prevent it," Duwait's father, Tayseer,
told The Media Line News Agency, as police officers were about to question him.
Multiple Palestinian sources suggested that the
attack was an independent act carried out by the driver alone.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Hamas, which rules the
Gaza Strip and is currently preserving a shaky ceasefire with Israel, said the
group did not know who was behind the attack, while terming it as "a natural
reaction to Israel's aggression."
The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) issued a statement
praising the attack, saying it was a clear message to Israel that "it should
expect more attacks for as long as it continues its crimes against the
Palestinian people and the aggression against our people, our land and our
places."
Following the attack, Israeli police said they would increase deployment across the Jewish state, focusing on crowded places, checkpoints and crossings.
