A Palestinian driver accused of purposely ramming three Israeli policewomen and several pedestrians on Friday was shot when he jumped from the car with a knife in what authorities believe was a terrorist attack during a Jewish holiday.
Mahmoud Salaymeh was shot and critically wounded after driving his vehicle onto a sidewalk outside a border police station and ramming the three policewomen, a cyclist and several pedestrians,
according to the Wall Street Journal.
The incident happened as people on the street were celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim.
"The target of the terrorists is police and border police," Jerusalem district policy commander Moshe Edri was reported as saying by the Journal. Edri said he believed the incident was a "lone wolf" attack, which makes it difficult to defend because those often happen with little to no warning,
noted Fox News.
"The swift and determined response stopped the attack as it was beginning and prevented more innocents from being injured," Edri told reporters.
BBC News reported the incident happened "on the seam of East and West Jerusalem" and that the driver tried to stab people once he left his vehicle. The incident happened after Palestinian officials voted to stop security cooperation with Israel, noted BBC News.
The holiday of Purim is recognized for its bright costumes that commemorate the salvation of the Jews in ancient Persia, noted the Journal, adding that Palestinians had made several attacks on the holiday during the 1990s that resulted in deaths.
"We won't let terrorism interrupt our routine," Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement noting that security could remain tight during the holiday. "I invite all residents of the country to celebrate Purim in Jerusalem and to support it."
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Palestinian militant movement Hamas called Friday's incident a "heroic" act and "natural reaction" for what Hamas alleged was Israeli crimes and an extremist government.
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