Terrorist in Jerusalem ramming attack of 12 soldiers indicted

The indictment said that before attacking that group of soldiers, al-Tourman had considered ramming another group.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
The scene of a suspected car ramming attack in Jerusalem (photo credit: MDA)
The scene of a suspected car ramming attack in Jerusalem
(photo credit: MDA)
An east Jerusalem terrorist who carried out a vehicular ramming attack on February 6 that wounded 12 off-duty soldiers in Jerusalem was indicted on Wednesday.
The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Sanad al-Tourman, 24, from the At-Tur neighborhood with the Jerusalem District Court on multiple charges of attempted murder with nationalistic ideological motivations.
The 12 soldiers were wounded at 1:44 a.m. as they were passing by the First Station, a popular entertainment spot on David Remez Street, during a heritage tour ahead of their swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall.
Before attacking the group of soldiers, Tourman had considered ramming another group at 1:38 a.m., the indictment said. However, when he saw the sidewalk the first group of soldiers were on had bollards that could have stopped his car, he looked for another group, it said.
A group of 38 soldiers was walking on the sidewalk when Tourman used his Kia vehicle to ram them from behind and at high speed, the indictment said.
Some soldiers were able to dive out of the way, but many were hit and were carried on the car’s windshield, while others were dragged by the car, the indictment said.
The soldiers did not have sufficient warning to shoot at the driver before he fled the scene of the attack, the IDF said at the time.
“This happened in seconds,” IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen Hildai Zilberman said.
One of the soldiers, aged 20, was evacuated in critical condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He was improving by late February. The others were lightly wounded and taken to hospitals.
Tourman fled the scene and drove toward the Tunnel Road checkpoint in the direction of Gush Etzion.
When he arrived at the Tunnel Road checkpoint, soldier M.S. signaled to him to stop, but Tourman accelerated and drove through the checkpoint.
His abandoned his car was found near Beit Jala, leading to an extensive manhunt in the area.
At the time, the attack drew wide national attention, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and President Reuven Rivlin commenting.
It was believed to be part of a spike in terrorism that occurred after the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was rolled out.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this story.


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