Five hurt as driver rams car into Jerusalem pedestrians

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A driver ploughed into pedestrians in Jerusalem Friday, injuring five people in an attack that further inflamed tensions a day after Palestinians vowed to halt security coordination with Israel.

Israeli-Palestinian relations have been severely strained by last year's war in the Gaza Strip, violence in Jerusalem and Palestinian moves to sue Israel for alleged war crimes.

The Palestinian threat to end security coordination ramped up pressure on Israel ahead of a general election this month, although President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to negotiate with whomever is elected.

Friday's car ramming bore the hallmarks of a series of "lone wolf" attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem last year.

"A young man rammed his car [into pedestrians], and then got out and tried to stab people," security spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.

Four Israeli soldiers were among those hurt in the attack outside a security base on the line separating west from Arab East Jerusalem.

The driver was shot and seriously wounded by a security guard, police said.

They said the suspect, in his 20s, was a resident of East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel after it occupied the West Bank in 1967.

Relatives identified him as Mohammed Salaymeh from the Ras Al Amud neighbourhood.