A Palestinian terrorist rammed a flatbed truck into a group of Israeli soldiers who had just disembarked from a bus adjacent to a popular promenade in southern Jerusalem on Sunday. They were on a sightseeing tour at the time. The massacre, a copy of the vehicular terrorist attacks in Nice and Berlin last year, resulted in the deaths of four Israelis, including three women, and the wounding of at least fifteen others. The terrorist driver was shot dead before he could inflict even more mayhem. Even so, his attack was one of the deadliest in Israel over the last year.
The terrorist, identified as Fadi al-Qanbar, was believed to have lived in an Arab area of east Jerusalem. He had previously served time in an Israeli jail, but nevertheless reportedly managed to buy the truck he used as a killing machine, which even carried Israeli license plates.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We know the identity of the attacker, and according to all the signs, he is a supporter of Islamic State. We will overcome this terror, just as we overcame other attacks.” Linking this attack to the ones in Nice and Berlin, he added, “We know there is a succession of attacks, and it could well be that there is a connection between those in France and Berlin — and now in Jerusalem.”
As of the writing of this article, ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack. Regardless, the Palestinian terrorist could well have been inspired by an Islamic State magazine, which instructed jihadists how to use large trucks to target “large numbers of kuffar” congregating on streets and at public markets. “The target should be on a road that offers the ability to accelerate to a high speed, which allows for inflicting maximum damage on those in the vehicle’s path,” the magazine advised. “It is imperative that one does not exit his vehicle during the attack. Rather he should remain inside, driving over the already harvested kuffar, and continue crushing their remains until it becomes physically impossible to continue by vehicle.” That is precisely what the terrorist driving the truck into the group of Israeli soldiers did. After running some of them over, he put his truck in reverse to crush them even further.
According to a report on Debkafile, some Palestinians standing nearby “clapped and shouted encouragement to the truck driver.”
Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif Qanou described the latest terrorist slaughter as a “heroic” act which other Palestinians should emulate, although Hamas did not immediately claim responsibility. Palestinian social media were full of congratulations to the terrorist driver for the “feat” he had accomplished. The following is from an official Fatah Twitter account: “perpetrator of the ramming operation in occupied Jerusalem is the martyr Fadi Qunbar.”