Israel Releases Car Ramming Footage After Palestinian ‘Lynching’ Attempt in Jerusalem
Footage of the attack released by Israeli police. Photo: Screenshot
The Israeli government released a police video on Monday in an effort to correct false reports that an incident involving a vehicle crash in Jerusalem was the result of a deliberate attack by the Israeli driver.
The full police video was posted after Palestinian groups posted selected parts of the incident on social media, saying that an Israeli man rammed his car into Palestinian worshippers outside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque. In another tweet it was claimed: “Israeli officer protecting an Israeli settler who deliberately rammed his car into Palestinian men outside the Lions Gate in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.”
However, as seen in the footage, a group of Palestinians pelted an Israeli car driving past with rocks. The Israeli driver tried to escape the mob as one of the attackers opened the backdoor, but he lost control over the vehicle and as a result hit one of the stone throwers. Once the car stopped, the Palestinian mob then opened the doors, threw rocks inside and attempted to pull the driver and passengers from the car.
The Israeli man “narrowly escapes lynching after his car is pelted with rocks,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said. “A policeman on the scene stops the violent mob and saves the driver’s life.”
Jerusalem, a short while ago: A Jewish man narrowly escapes lynching after his car is pelted with rocks. A policeman on the scene stops the violent mob. pic.twitter.com/OmkwkfGPQv
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 10, 2021
The car ramming took place as hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police outside al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City in a flare-up of violence that coincided with Jerusalem Day, which marks Israel’s anniversary of the capture of parts of eastern Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day war.