Terrorist in Jerusalem ramming attack charged with attempted murder

An East Jerusalem terrorist who carried out a vehicular ramming attack on February 6 which injured 12 off-duty IDF soldiers in Jerusalem was indicted on Wednesday.

The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Sanad al-Tourman, 25, from the A-Tur neighborhood with the Jerusalem District Court on charges of attempted murder.

The 12 IDF soldiers were wounded around 2:00 a.m as they were passing by the First Station, a popular entertainment spot on the city’s David Remez Street, during a heritage tour ahead of their swearing in ceremony at the Western Wall.

IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen Hildai Zilberman said at the time that they had been walking on the sidewalk when the vehicle came from behind and struck them at high speed. The soldiers were not able to shoot at the driver before he fled the scene of the attack.

“This happened in seconds,” Zilberman said.

One of the soldiers, aged 20, was evacuated in critical condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, but by late February was improving.

The others were lightly injured and evacuated to hospital. The suspect’s car was found near Beit Jala, sparking an extensive manhunt.

At the time, the attack drew wide national attention with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz and President Reuven Rivlin all commenting.

The attack was believed to be part of a spike in terror that occurred after the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was rolled out.

Source: JP