At least five people were wounded at around 4:20 pm Monday afternoon in a ramming terror attack that took place at the intersection of Jerusalem’s Agrippas Street and Kiach Street, near the Mercaz Clal building, a block away from the street from the city’s iconic Mahane Yehuda open air market.
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The 39-year-old terrorist, Hatam Negama, was a resident of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa, married with five children and no security background, according to Israeli media.
The attacker was reportedly dressed as a Jew and had no driver’s license; he was neutralized on the spot by an armed civilian, according to a spokesperson for Israel Police. Large police forces were immediately summoned to the scene.
The attack took place just before the start of the country’s Memorial Day for fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terror, a mere 200 meters away from the site of the Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) ceremony that was scheduled to start in just a few hours.
Five people were treated at the scene before they were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem and Shaare Zedek Medical Centers. In addition, a 37-year-old woman was taken to Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center with minor wounds. She is listed in good condition, a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Shaare Zedek Medical Center said in an update that two of the victims, including a 60-year-old man with multi-system injuries listed in critical condition and the 30-year-old woman listed in serious condition, were being seen in the hospital’s Trauma Room. Both were undergoing imaging and other medical tests.
A spokesperson for Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center said in another update that three people were brought to the hospital’s emergency room: two men ages 50 and 27 and a 57-year-old man suffering from severe anxiety. All three were listed in good condition with mild injuries and were undergoing medical tests.
“Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit is on its way to the scene to treat people suffering from emotional shock,” United Hatzalah volunteer medic Tzvi Klein said.
Police forces at the scene collected evidence and the vehicle was inspected by the traffic accident examiners of the Jerusalem District, a police spokesperson said.
“An initial inspection has ruled out any mechanical malfunction in the vehicle,” the spokesperson said, making it clear the ramming was no accident.
In a subsequent statement, police confirmed the ramming was indeed a terror attack, and said security agencies are examining the profile of the terrorist. “He does have a past in security events,” a spokesperson said.
“Not far from here, another attempt was made to murder Israeli citizens. This attack in this place at this moment reminds us that the Land of Israel and the State of Israel were — and are — being purchased with great suffering,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted in a statement at the opening ceremony for Yom HaZikaron taking place nearby at Yad LeBanim headquarters.
Abdul Latif Al-Kana, a spokesperson for the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist organization that rules Gaza, called the attack a “heroic action” which he claimed “came in response to the crimes and assault on Al Aqsa Mosque (on the Temple Mount) by the occupation.”
Netanyahu noted in his statement that terrorist attacks against Israelis “come with the expectation that they can and will displace us from here, and if they could they would kill us all,” Netanyahu continued.
“But they will not overcome us; we will overcome them. We have established an exemplary state with an exemplary army and police force, at a heartrending price.”
Since the start of 2023, 19 Israelis have lost their lives to Arab terrorists.
