A border police officer on guard near Temple Mount was shot in the arm by a Palestinian at midday Thursday, Feb. 6, just hours after a vehicle crashed into a group of Golani Brigade recruits injuring 14. The Palestinian gunman was shot dead by police officers while the car-rammer is still the subject of a manhunt south of Jerusalem.Opening fire in broad daylight indicates that the Palestinian terrorists are getting bolder. Youthful rioters across the West Bank in recent days have upgraded their weapons for attacking Israeli troops and vehicles from rocks and primitive devices to petrol bombs – and now the first case of gunfire in the capital.
DEBKAfile reported earlier: One of the 14 soldiers injured is in serious condition, the rest suffered light to moderate wounds, after a car crashed into the group outside Jerusalem’s popular “Tahana” center on Wednesday night, Feb. 5, and fled the scene. The soldiers were new recruits to the Golani Brigade on a heritage tour of Jerusalem and on their way to the Western Wall. The Palestinian driver rammed the group at high speed and drove off before the soldiers could open fire on their assailant. He headed south.
The hunt early Thursday focused on the Palestinian towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala just south of the capital. The vehicle used in the attack was quickly found in Beit Jala. The attacker is still at large but his identity is known to security forces.
The families of the injured troops were notified. The IDF has launched an investigation into the incident to discover why the group did not observe regulation security measures.
