JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – A Palestinian driver rammed his bulldozer into a police car, rolling it over until it slammed into a bus at one of Jerusalem’s busiest intersections yesterday before police and a taxi driver shot him dead.
An open Koran, the Muslim holy book, was found in the driver’s cabin, Niso Shaham, Jerusalem’s deputy police chief, told reporters at the scene. A police spokesman said it was a “terrorist” attack.
Israeli police and Palestinian residents identified the driver as Marei Radaydeh, a West Bank construction worker in his mid-20s who lived with his family in the Arab East Jerusalem neighourhood of Beit Hanina.
No Palestinian militant groups have claimed responsibility for the incident, which came a day after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Video from a traffic camera showed the bulldozer lowering its front shovel before striking a parked police car. The bulldozer then rolled the vehicle across the intersection, flipping it over and smashing it into a bus.