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Bulldozer driver goes on rampage in Jerusalem, apparent copycat of recent deadly attack
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies
Tags: Israel, terror attack 

A Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least 24 people, just weeks after a similar attack in the capital left three dead.

The driver was identified as a 22-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who held an Israeli ID card. Police sealed off possible escape routes into the predominantly Arab area of Jerusalem and were searching for two suspects who fled the scene, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

One of the wounded was in serious condition and the rest sustained light wounds. They were taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.
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The driver of the tractor struck a bus and at least five cars before being shot dead by security forces, Jerusalem police said.

Television footage showed an elderly woman being wheeled into an ambulance and rescue personnel assisting visibly shocked passersby. A mother and her 9-month-old son were among the lightly wounded.

The copycat attack occurred on the corner of Keren Hayesdod and King David streets in downtown Jerusalem, down the road from the hotel where U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was to be staying later in the day.

"The bulldozer driver left a construction site, and hit two cars," a police spokesman said. "A civilian who saw what was happening, shot him. The bulldozer continued on its way. A Border Police patrol... continued to shoot and the terrorist was killed."

An eyewitness said that the whole incident took place in less than a few minutes.

"One car flipped over and others were crushed. I started running in the direction of the tractor. People regained their composure within seconds. A guy from Susya, near southern Mount Hebron, shot him in the head and a few minutes later a Border Police officer shot him as well," the witness added.

The driver of the bus said he was chased by the assailant, who raised the shovel of his front-end loader.

"I was driving on the main road when the (construction vehicle) hit me in the rear, on the right hand side," driver Avi Levi said.

"After I passed him he turned round, made a U-turn and rammed the windows twice with the shovel. The third time he aimed for my head, he came up to my window and I swerved to the right, otherwise I would have gone to meet my maker," Levi said.

Witness Moshe Shimshi said the driver of the construction vehicle, who was wearing a large, white skullcap commonly worn by religious Muslims, slammed into the side of the bus, then sped away and went for a car.

"He didn't yell anything, he just kept ramming into cars," Shimshi said.

"The driver then headed for cars waiting at a red light and rammed into them with all his might," he added.

Shimshi said he stopped his motorcycle and ran toward the construction vehicle when he saw another man running at it from another direction.

The civilian who shot the terrorist that steered the bulldozer has been identified as Ya'akov Asahel, a 53-year-old resident of the West Bank settlement of Susya in the southern Hebron hills.

Asahel, a graduate of the Netiv Meir religious seminary, is also a platoon commander in the Israel Defense Forces' Armored Corps as well as one of the first settlers in the southern Hebron hills area. An agrarian by trade, he works as a gardener and a religious instructor in the high school yeshiva of the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, just outside of Hebron.

The head of the southern Hebron hills regional council, Zviki Bar Chai, himself a resident of Susya, said Asahel was an energetic type with a strong, athletic build. "He's a combination of an intellectual and a man tied to the land, a very assertive and special man," Bar Chai said. "A man of Torah and work."

On July 2, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem plowed a bulldozer down Jaffa Road, Jerusalem's main thoroughfare, killing three people. He was not known to be affiliated with any Palestinian militant group.

"This was another attempt to murder innocent people in a senseless act of terrorism," said government spokesman Mark Regev. "All people who believe in peace and reconciliation must unequivocally condemn this attack. Unfortunately, it is clear that we as a society will have to remain vigilant against terrorism."

Minutes after the attack, the driver, wearing shorts and black shoes, was sprawled backward in the construction vehicle's cabin, his legs dangling lifelessly.

Firetrucks had massed at the scene, where the smell of gas was wafting and liquid had spilled on the ground.

Sirens wailed in the background, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.

Emergency numbers:
Shaare Tzedek Hospital: 12-55-125
Jerusalem municipality hotline: 12-55-023-106

Related articles on Jerusalem attack earlier this month:
  • Barak: Israel must respond immediately to Jerusalem attack
  • Bulldozer plows into crowded bus on Jaffa Street
  • Police conclude Jerusalem bulldozer killer acted alone
  • A junkie and a martyr
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      1.   Deleted by moderator 14:39  |  Palestinian in UK 22/07/08
      2.   Deleted by moderator 14:39  |  Genuine Tosefta 22/07/08
      3.   Deleted by moderator 14:51  |  Leo 22/07/08
      4.   The Chanalau Penomenon will again blame the Jewish victims 14:51  |  Genuine Tosefta 22/07/08
      5.   Deleted by moderator 14:52  |  David P 22/07/08
      6.   It isn`t rocket science 14:53  |  Leo 22/07/08
      7.   Fast thinking saves lives! 14:54  |  Michael J 22/07/08
      8.   One for the money, two for the show... 14:56  |  hanoi 22/07/08
      9.   No Arab dignity 15:02  |  s 22/07/08
      10.   Twin towers, twin bulldozers 15:03  |  Discoverer 22/07/08
      11.   Luckily, there were not too many victims 15:03  |  Outsider 22/07/08
      12.   Send his whole extended family to Gaza 15:07  |  John 22/07/08
      13.   Wrong policies 15:09  |  Pierre 22/07/08
      14.   What Do We Arabs Gain? 15:09  |  E. Jerusalem Arab 22/07/08
      15.   Terrorism returns to Jerusalem 15:10  |  x-ray 22/07/08
      16.   The follow up will be no surprise 15:11  |  Arie 22/07/08
      17.   Preventable 15:12  |  Jewish Escobar 22/07/08
      18.   Patience... 15:14  |  Joshua 22/07/08
      19.   finally - Deletions! 15:19  |  saus 22/07/08
      20.   If... 15:21  |  Arie 22/07/08
      21.   I´ts about time to endure and thrown out peace efforts 15:22  |  JP 22/07/08
      22.   Knock-on effect 15:25  |  Jon 22/07/08
      23.   It is really sad, but I am wondering why? 15:25  |  Persian Hero 22/07/08
      24.   Progress 15:33  |  Eldar 22/07/08
      25.   My condolences 15:34  |  Steve 22/07/08
      26.   Israel Playing By the Rules. the Arabs Dont 15:35  |  Dave Levy 22/07/08
      27.   Its sad but worth asking why 15:42  |  HH 22/07/08
      28.   Wow! what was this man thinking? 15:44  |  Robert 22/07/08
      29.   Fast , Healthy Recovery To The Wounded , 15:49  |  Joseph.E 22/07/08
      30.   #14 Joshua & #19 Steve 15:50  |  MR 22/07/08
      31.   #18 Answer- Persian Hero 15:52  |  THK 22/07/08
      32.   AGAIN?!?!?! 15:54  |  Marzia 22/07/08
      33.   What happened to the govt promises to stop this insanity 15:57  |  Adam 22/07/08
      34.   To No.12 "Send his whole family to Gaza 16:00  |  Ana 22/07/08
      35.   #18 what makes a human do this 16:00  |  Victoria 22/07/08
      36.   Police chief: The bulldozer driver had a criminal record 16:01  |  Lebanese in Canada 22/07/08
      37.   think a bit 16:06  |  Sara 22/07/08
      38.   Predictable and Preventable 16:14  |  guy 22/07/08
      39.   Persian hero is right 16:16  |  Matthew 22/07/08
      40.   #18 Good question... 16:18  |  Ron 22/07/08
      41.   Answer to persian hero 16:19  |  Abu Yusuf 22/07/08
      42.   british professors will now sing praises of caterpillar 16:19  |  POP 22/07/08
      43.   Sara & background checks 16:24  |  michelle 22/07/08
      44.   fire & brimstone blaring instead of mosque prayers 16:31  |  jew living in E.Jer 22/07/08
      45.   *27 Lebanese in Canada 16:32  |  mark hammond 22/07/08
      46.   desperate man see so short 16:32  |  Keops 22/07/08
      47.   Our enemies are inventive 16:37  |  Nephtaly 22/07/08
      48.   Oh me God.... not again...!!! 16:43  |  Esther 22/07/08
      49.   #26 Victoria 16:46  |  Persian Hero 22/07/08
      50.   To "Persian Hero"?- no need to wonder 16:49  |  Arie 22/07/08
      51.   bulldozer driver 16:50  |  yona schear 22/07/08
      52.   #18 - Islam? 17:03  |  Johnny 22/07/08
      53.   20% of opinions `Deleted by moderator` 17:03  |  Ulf 22/07/08
      54.   It hurts other Palestinians 17:05  |  Ben 22/07/08
      55.   #32 Persian Hero 17:11  |  Victoria 22/07/08
      56.   No respect for the holiness of Jerusalem! 17:13  |  Paul Henzen 22/07/08
      57.   They just can`t stop doing themselves disservice 17:24  |  Steve E. 22/07/08
      58.   PA to divest from CAT 17:28  |  Fish 22/07/08
      59.   I am a palestinian 17:31  |  Ron 22/07/08
      60.   kick his whole family to Gaza 17:32  |  ross 22/07/08
      61.   Time for a new Government 17:38  |  Moshe Benzaquen 22/07/08
      62.   Re Victiria #27 17:40  |  Esther 22/07/08
      63.   Where are the btselem cameras?? 17:45  |  Arie 22/07/08
      64.   re Paul Henzen #37 `No respect` 17:49  |  Colin Wright 22/07/08
      65.   To #36 17:50  |  Moe 22/07/08
      66.   Not just out-of-the-blue.... 17:51  |  Esther 22/07/08
      67.   Enforce the law! 17:56  |  Jean Van Daem 22/07/08
      68.   #33 persian hero 18:02  |  Realist 22/07/08
      69.   #28 Lebanese in Canada Not quite true