The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office indicted a man on Wednesday at the
district court for allegedly trying to run over a police officer in east
Jerusalem last week.
According to the indictment, Rami Shaqira’at, a
37-year-old resident of Jebl Mukaber, hit a car, and then hit and injured a
police officer, before slamming into a concrete wall.
Investigators
believe that Shaqira’at was nationalistically motivated to carry out the attack
in order to harm the policeman.
There are significant tensions between
Jebl Mukaber residents and officers at the police station located between the
end of the Armon Hanatziv promenade and the Arab neighborhood.
The
incident took place at 10:30 a.m. on December 23. Shaqira’at was driving past
the Oz police station as a car was waiting for an electronic gate to lift up so
he could exit the area. When the gate lifted, Shaqira’at slammed his car head-on
into the car turning left to exit.
When policeman Maor Ohana came out to
investigate, Shaqira’at smiled at him and began to back up. Then he drove
straight at Ohana, hurling the policeman against a concrete wall and injuring
him moderately. Four other policemen came running to stop Shaqira’at, who was
trying to drive away, and began shooting at the car. Shaqira’at lost control of
the vehicle and slammed into a concrete wall, where he was arrested.
The
Jerusalem district attorney is indicting Shaqira’at for aggravated assault and
an act of recklessness and negligence. Police are requesting he remain
incarcerated until the end of the legal proceedings.
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