At least five people were injured Monday afternoon in central Jerusalem by a car hitting them, in what Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called a "
terrorist attack
".
The Magen David Adom, Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, said in a statement that several pedestrians were hit by a car.
A 70-year-old man was seriously injured while a 30-year-old and three men aged 25 to 50 are in less serious condition, according to this source.
Without qualifying the accident as an attack, the police indicated that a “
suspect
”, not yet identified, had been “
neutralized
” on the spot and that a “
large number of police officers
” had been called in for reinforcement.
“
A few minutes ago, not far from here, another attempt was made to assassinate the citizens of Israel.
This terrorist attack in this place, at this moment, reminds us that the land and the State of Israel are acquired only at the cost of many hardships
,” Netanyahu said in a statement, as Israel prepares to celebrate from Tuesday evening the 75th anniversary of its creation.
Climbing since January
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen a wave of increased violence since January.
Earlier Monday, a Palestinian was killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, during a military operation described as "counter-terrorism" by
the
Israeli army.
Since the beginning of the year, the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 97 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.
