Police confirm last week’s fatal Jerusalem car attack was act of terror

Friends and family of car terror victim Shalom Yohai Cherki carry his body during the funeral in Jerusalem on April 16, 2015. (Flash90)

Police have confirmed that a car incident last week in Jerusalem was a terror attack, not an accident. A 25-year-old man was murdered and a 20-year-old woman is in critical condition.

An car attack last Wednesday evening in Jerusalem, on the eve of the Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day, in which a young man was killed and a young woman critically wounded, was a terror attack, police declared.

Khaled Kutina, 37, a resident of Jerusalem, rammed his car into innocent people waiting at a bus stop. The terrorist was lightly wounded and taken to hospital for treatment. He was later arrested by the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency), who were investigating in order to determine whether the incident was a terror attack or, as Kutina had claimed, a car accident. He had no prior security-related history.

“After the suspect was questioned, the preliminary findings reinforced that the incident was an attack; however, the investigation is continuing,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Thursday.

“Today we can say that it was a horrible attack,” Israel Chief of Police Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino stated on Saturday. He ruled out initial suggestions that the attack was an accident.

The victim, Shalom Cherki, 25, was buried in Jerusalem on Thursday. Shira Klein, 20, who was seriously wounded, remains hospitalized in critical yet stable condition, a spokesperson announced Sunday morning.

By: Aryeh Savir
World Israel News

car attackDaninoJerusalem terrorPalestinian terrorShalom Sherki