Arab runs over Border Policemen; driver shot dead, corpse stolen.
By ABE SELIGeast jerusalem riot arab 311(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Two Border Police officers were lightly wounded in Wadi Joz on Friday afternoon when a pickup truck rammed into them as they entered the east Jerusalem neighborhood amidst reports of potential rioting in the area.According to police, the driver of the truck, Zeyad Joulani, continued driving after hitting the officers before exiting the vehicle and attempting to flee the scene on foot. When Joulani refused the officers’ orders to stop, he was shot and critically wounded.A Red Crescent medical team evacuated Joulani to the al-Muqadas Hospital in east Jerusalem where he succumbed to his wounds.Police Spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said that Joulani had been driving with another man who had apparently been wounded in a stone-throwing incident in the area beforehand.Police opened an investigation into the incident to determine whether the case was politically motivated or if it had been a hit-and-run accident.However, security forces had been put on high alert prior to theincident after an intelligence assessment released by police onThursday night warned of potential for violence in east Jerusalemfollowing Friday afternoon prayers at Al-Aksa Mosque.In response to the warning, police had imposed age restrictions onworshippers at the Temple Mount, allowing men over the age of 40 andall women to enter the compound.Later on Friday, Joulani’s body was taken from the hospital, apparentlyby his relatives, who then joined a funeral procession with hundreds ofangry mourners, carrying his corpse into Al-Aksa Mosque for a prayerservice before burial at a nearby cemetery.Mourners were seen waving Hamas and Turkish flags during theprocession, reflecting current heightened tensions in east Jerusalemafter the IDF naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla nearly two weeks ago.AP contributed to this report.
