Car ramming attack in Jerusalem leaves five wounded, one seriously

Updated at 4:03 pm Israeli time.

Five people were wounded, one seriously, in a car-ramming attack near Jerusalem’s busy Mahane Yehuda market on Monday afternoon. The attack took place as the State of Israel prepared to begin the observance of its Memorial Day for the Fallen of the Israel Defense Forces and Victims of Terrorism and others.

One victim of the attack, an 80-year-old man, remains in critical condition.

Israeli police reported that a Palestinian male driver rammed his vehicle into pedestrians near the market, crowded with shoppers, and was subsequently neutralized when a local armed Israeli shot him dead.

On-site medics from the Magen David Adom emergency ambulance service treated five people at the scene, according to reports.

The elderly male victim was rushed to a local hospital and has since undergone surgery for multi-systemic injuries, according to Dr. Alon Schwartz, the head of the Trauma Department at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. A woman in her 30s sustained injuries to her limbs and remains in moderate condition, but will likely also require surgery, Schwartz said.

The other three male victims – a 50-year-old man and two 25-year-old men – are all listed in good condition as of Tuesday morning.

“A citizen, who witnessed the incident and was near the scene, shot and neutralized the terrorist, who was later declared dead at the scene,” the Israel Police said in a statement.

The 39-year-old Palestinian terrorist responsible for the attack is reportedly a father of five from the Beit Safafa neighborhood, near the Green Line that marks Israel’s pre-1967 boundaries. While the attacker, Hatem Najma, had no prior security offenses, he is allegedly believed to have suffered with mental health issues.

Police reports say the driver “accelerated and deliberately hit a number of pedestrians, some of whom were crossing the road,” near the open market, filled with people ahead of the Memorial evening ceremonies, when most stores are closed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday morning attended a ceremony nearby in Jerusalem ahead of another Memorial Day event.

“Minutes ago, not far from here, there was another attempt to murder Israeli citizens,” he said. "This terror attack reminds us that the Land of Israel and the State of Israel were acquired through many tribulations.”

Israel’s military forces have been conducting almost-nightly raids in the West Bank over the last year in response to a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks, which has left more than 19 people dead and several seriously wounded, causing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians to run high.

This morning, a 28-year-old Israeli man was reportedly wounded by gunfire in an apparent drive-by shooting in the West Bank. The attack was targeting a group of runners who were commemorating Memorial Day.

Last week, two Israeli men were shot and injured in a terror attack in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The assailant was reportedly arrested later in the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Since the start of 2023, 92 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, most but not all who were taken down during clashes with Israeli security forces or while perpetrating attacks against Israelis.

About this time last year, three Israelis were murdered and several wounded on Israel’s Independence Day when two Palestinian terrorists wielding an axe and a knife went on a killing spree in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood.