The Jerusalem area was struck twice Wednesday by terrorists plowing their vehicles into civilians. One victim died, several were wounded. Israel braces for more.   

One of the soldiers wounded in the terror attack treated at the entrance to Haddasah Hospital. (Photo: Hadas Parush/Flash90)

The Jerusalem area was hit by the second vehicular attack in one day, as a terrorist ran his van into a group of soldiers patrolling near the al-Arub refugee camp in Gush Etzion on Wednesday night.

In the morning, Hamas terrorist Ibrahim al-Akari rammed his van into pedestrians in Jerusalem Wednesday morning, murdering one civilian and wounding 13 others, two critically.

Three soldiers were wounded in the second attack; one was moderately wounded and two sustained light injuries. The terrorist fled, and the security forces launched a manhunt for the assailant. The vehicle he used in the attack was recovered, and the terrorist later turned himself in and was arrested by the IDF.

“When we got to the scene we saw three wounded laying in a ditch on the side of the road, fully conscious,” Magen David Adom paramedic Eyal Zahavi told Ynet. “One of them was suffering from chest wounds and injuries to his limbs and was in a serious condition. The other two were moderately hurt and suffering from wounds to the upper and lower limbs.” The three were rushed to Haddasah Hospital in Jerusalem.

David Pearl, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, stated that PA head Mahmoud Abbas was behind the recent wave of attacks: “This additional hit-and-run attack proves without a doubt that we are in the midst of a third Intifada, which is instigated by Abu Mazen [Abbas] through incitement and encouragement to commit attacks.”

Pearl called on the prime minister and minister of defense to hit hard against “the terrorists whose objective is to uproot us from our land.”

“Together with an uncompromising war on terror we must lead a national process of building and expansion in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and all of Israel,” Pearl demanded.

WATCH: The terror attack, and the area of the attack a short while after the attack occurred. (Credit: Tazpit News Agency)

The three wounded soldiers were hospitalized beside the victims of the terror attack, which occurred in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, a similar attack in which a Hamas terrorist ran his vehicle into a group of pedestrians waiting for a train.

Jaddan Assad, 38, a Druze border policeman from Beit Jann, was murdered in the attack, leaving behind a pregnant wife and young child. Assad will be laid to rest on Thursday afternoon.

A Haddash Hospital spokesperson announced Thursday morning that two of the wounded from the attack on Wednesday morning were still hospitalized; one was still in critical condition.

Police deployed cement blocks around Jerusalem rail stations, as they have become the target of Arab terrorists in the past weeks. Three-month-old Chaya Zissel Braun and Karen Yemima Mosquera, 22, were murdered in October by a terrorist who drove into a train station.

Assad is the fourth Israeli to be murdered by Arab terrorists in Jerusalem since June of this year.

Abbas is to Blame, Netanyahu Says

Speaking at a special Knesset session last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his charge that Abbas was responsible for the upsurge of violence in the capital: “Over the past several months, and especially over the past several days, we have witnessed a campaign of wild incitement against the State of Israel led by Abu Mazen and his Hamas partners. Hamas terrorists carry out terror attacks and Abu Mazen sends them condolence letters…. This front of hatred is directed at all of us. It seeks to run over all of us…. It turns out that boundless violence walks hand in hand with religious intolerance. We will not let extremists and fanatics ignite Jerusalem.”

On Wednesday morning, after the first attack, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett commented on Facebook: “Abu Mazen is the driver of the deadly cars in Jerusalem. The terrorists are just his messengers.”

Author: Aryeh Savir
Staff Writer, United with Israel

Tell us in the comments below: What do YOU think is causing this upsurge in terror? How should Israel respond?