View source for 2008 Jerusalem bulldozer attack

{{Short description|Vehicle-ramming attack in Jerusalem}}
{{Old news|date=March 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Jerusalem bulldozer attack
| image = Jerusalem tractor run over terror attack2 02-07-08.jpg
| caption = The attack aftermath
| map = {{location map|Israel jerusalem|caption=The attack site}}
| location = [[Jerusalem]]
| coordinates = {{coord|31|47|18|N|35|12|23|E|display=inline,title}}
| date = {{start date and age|2008|7|2}}
| time-begin = 11:55 a.m.
| time-end = 12:10 p.m.
| timezone = UTC+3
| type = [[Vehicle-ramming attack]]
| target = <!--CITE the target otherwise its POV, OR and Synthesis-->
| fatalities = 3 civilians (+1 attacker)<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/middleeast/03mideast.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |title=Construction Vehicle Kills 3 in Israel Attack |last1=Kershner |first1=Isabel |last2=Cowell |first2=Alan |date=July 3, 2008 |access-date=May 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416030238/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/middleeast/03mideast.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
| injuries = 40<ref name="nytimes" />
| susperps = 
| perp = 
| assailant = Hussam Taysir Duwait
}}

On July 2, 2008, an [[Arab]] resident of [[East Jerusalem]] identified as Hussam Taysir Duwait (also referred to as Hussam Duwiyat,<ref name="haaretz 3"/> Hossam Dawyyat,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3563167,00.html |title=Olmert, Barak: Demolish terrorists' homes |date=July 2, 2008 |work=[[Ynet]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=July 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080712202207/http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3563167,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> or erroneously as Jabr Duwait<ref name="totally">{{cite web |url=http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/c-9500/three-dead-in-terror-attack/ |title=Three dead in terror attack |date=July 2, 2008 |publisher=[[TotallyJewish.com]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=July 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080707183302/http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/c-9500/three-dead-in-terror-attack/ |url-status=live}}</ref>) attacked several cars on [[Jaffa Road]] in [[Jerusalem]] in a [[vehicle-ramming attack]] using a [[Loader (equipment)|front-end loader]] (erroneously referred to as a [[bulldozer]] in the media<ref name="cnn"/>), killing three civilians and wounding at least 30 other [[pedestrians]], before being shot to death.<ref name="haaretz 3">{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998400.html |title=Two teachers among the dead in Jerusalem attack |date=July 3, 2008 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=July 3, 2008 |archive-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704220800/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998400.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3562991,00.html |title=3 killed as Palestinian bulldozer driver goes on killing spree in Jerusalem |date=July 2, 2008 |work=[[Ynetnews]] |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705050525/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3562991,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Israeli government]] spokesman [[Mark Regev]] said that an inquiry indicated the attacker had been acting alone.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7485022.stm |publisher=BBC |access-date=July 2, 2008 |date=June 11, 2009 |title=Deadly Jerusalem bulldozer attack |archive-date=July 21, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721080349/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7485022.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> A motive for the attack could not immediately be determined, but police at the scene referred to the incident as a [[List of terrorist incidents|terrorist attack]].<ref name="cnn">{{cite news |url=http://m.wusa9.com/detail.jsp?key=117091&full=1 |publisher=CNN (via [[WUSA (TV)|WUSA]]) |access-date=June 16, 2009 |date=July 2, 2008 |title=Jerusalem bulldozer 'terrorist' kills 3 in rampage}}{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Three copycat attacks have occurred since then.

This attack was the second incident in 2008 in which an [[Israeli Arab]] committed a violent act in [[West Jerusalem]] while carrying an [[Israeli identity card]] (allowing for freedom of movement and travel throughout Israel), the first being the [[Mercaz HaRav massacre]] in early March 2008.<ref name="Jpost">{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=106281 |publisher=Jpost |access-date=July 3, 2008 |date=July 3, 2008 |title='He cried Allah Akhbar and hit the gas' |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512114409/https://www.jpost.com/Israel/He-cried-Allah-Akhbar-and-hit-the-gas |url-status=live}}</ref> On April 7, 2009, Duwait's house was [[Israeli demolition of Palestinian property#Punitive demolition|demolished as a declared deterrent against future attacks]], the first such demolition since 2005.<ref name=houseDemo />

==Attack==
[[File:Jerusalem Bulldozer rampage 03.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Damage caused by the attack]]
Preliminary investigations suggest the Caterpillar 966 front-end [[loader (equipment)|loader]] was taken from a nearby construction site on [[Jaffa Road]]. The perpetrator then drove the vehicle against traffic, before hitting an [[Egged Bus Cooperative|Egged]] public bus near the city's old Central Bus Station. The impact flipped the bus onto its side, hitting nearby vehicles and pedestrians.<ref name="haaretz 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998294.html |title=At least four dead, dozens hurt in Jerusalem terror attack |date=July 2, 2008 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704220752/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998294.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The perpetrator, Hussam Taysir Duwait, was also heard yelling "[[Allahu Akbar]]" during the attack.<ref name="Jpost"/> After a traffic policewoman had shot the driver, the vehicle came to a halt but then started again and crushed another car, killing another person.<ref name="haaretz 3"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=200807020027|title=GTD ID:200807020027|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-08-12}}</ref>

At the point when the vehicle had stopped for the first time, three men had climbed up to the cabin: A 20-year-old off-duty soldier from Jerusalem, Moshe Plesser, who had recently enlisted at the [[Israel Defense Forces]],<ref name="totally"/><ref name="arutz">{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/170447#.UT9TDocqZ8E |title=IDF Awards Soldier Who Stopped Tractor Terrorist |date=September 2, 2009 |publisher=[[Arutz Sheva]] |access-date=March 12, 2013 |archive-date=March 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326012639/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/170447#.UT9TDocqZ8E |url-status=live}}</ref> an unnamed policeman, and Oron Ben Shimon, an armed civilian and manager of a regional security firm.<ref name="haaretz 4">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998409.html |title=Young recruit left his bike, felled bulldozer terrorist |last=Azoulay |first=Yuval |author2=Jonathan Lis |author3=Nadav Shragai |date=July 3, 2008 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=July 3, 2008 |archive-date=July 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080711030919/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998409.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to Oron, while he was struggling with the driver inside the cabin, trying to get his feet off the accelerator and take over the wheel, he shouted at the soldier to shoot the driver.<ref name="haaretz 4"/> The soldier then grabbed Oron's handgun and killed Duwait with three shots to the head at point blank range.<ref name="haaretz 2"/><ref name="haaretz 5">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998340.html |title=Policeman shoots and kills Jerusalem terrorist during rampage |author=Haaretz Staff and Channel 10 |date=July 2, 2008 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705081845/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998340.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After the vehicle had immediately come to a halt again, motorcycle policeman Eli Mizrahi climbed the cabin and fired two more shots.<ref name="haaretz 2"/><ref name="msnbc">{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25489631 |title=Bulldozer plows into cars, buses in Jerusalem |date=July 2, 2008 |work=[[NBC News]] |access-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-date=September 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223943/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25489631 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Haaretz quotes the soldier as saying that "I got closer to the bulldozer, the whole time looking for my weapon to shoot him."<ref name="haaretz 2"/> Coincidentally, the soldier is the brother-in-law of Captain David Shapira, the paratrooper officer who shot and killed the perpetrator in the [[Mercaz HaRav massacre]].<ref name="haaretz 4"/>

The moments during which the perpetrator was shot and killed have been filmed from at least two different angles,<ref name="reuters">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=85720&videoChannel=1 |title=Dramatic video of attacker's killing |date=July 2, 2008 |work=Reuters |access-date=July 3, 2008 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512114429/https://www.reuters.com/video/top-news |url-status=live}}</ref> which accounts for the greater level of directly available descriptive detail in comparison to the original attack which is documented only through eyewitnesses on the scene as well as images that were taken mostly after the incident itself.
[[File:JaffaRoadBulldozerAttack.png|thumb|250px]]
One witness was quoted as saying that Duwait was armed and "shooting at a police officer".<ref name="haaretz 1">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998299.html |title=Jerusalem bus driver: Terrorist looked me in the eye and drove at me |date=July 2, 2008 |publisher=Haaretz Service and News Agencies |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705041616/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998299.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Fatalities===
*Batsheva Unterman, 33, of Jerusalem<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2008/Bulldozer/Batsheva+Unterman.htm |title=Batsheva Unterman |work=GxMSDev |access-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930001837/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2008/Bulldozer/Batsheva+Unterman.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> – a kindergarten teacher, and the wife of Ido Unterman, grandson of former Chief rabbi [[Isser Yehuda Unterman]]. She was in her car at the scene of the attack. Her 6-month-old daughter was pulled from the car just before it was hit.<ref name="haaretz 3"/>
*Elizabeth Goren-Friedman, 54, of Jerusalem<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2008/Bulldozer/Elizabeth+Goren-Friedman.htm |title=Elizabeth (Lili) Goren-Friedman |work=GxMSDev |access-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930001714/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2008/Bulldozer/Elizabeth+Goren-Friedman.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> – originally of [[Austria]], Elizabeth Goren-Friedman worked as a teacher in a school for the blind.<ref name="haaretz 3"/>
*Jean Relevy, 68, of Jerusalem<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2008/Bulldozer/Jean+Reloy.htm |title=Jean Relevy |work=GxMSDev |access-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424030429/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2008/Bulldozer/Jean+Reloy.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> – an air-conditioner technician who lived in the [[Gilo]] neighborhood.<ref name="haaretz 3"/>

==Perpetrator==
Duwait, a 32-year-old father of two from the [[East Jerusalem]] neighbourhood of [[Sur Baher]], was carrying an [[Israeli identity card]], and was hired by a local construction firm for the [[Jerusalem Light Rail]].<ref name="cnn"/>

Three Palestinian organizations took responsibility for the attack: the [[Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades]], the Galilee Freedom Battalion ({{langx|he|גדודי חופשיי הגליל}}), and the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]]. Despite the Palestinian claims of responsibility, Israeli police chief Dudi Cohen said the attacker appeared to be acting alone and that "it looks as if it was a spontaneous act."<ref name="msnbc"/> Some two hours after the attack, a [[Hamas]] spokesman said that the attack is "a natural response to Israeli aggression." Nevertheless, he stressed that Hamas did not know who was behind the attack.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUKL0243020020080702 |title=Palestinian kills 3 in Jerusalem bulldozer attack |date=July 2, 2008 |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210174354/http://uk.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUKL0243020020080702 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Shimon Kokos, the lawyer of the perpetrator's family, said that Hussam "had not belonged to any militant organization and may have acted out of temporary insanity" and that, "had [he] not been killed during his rampage, it is doubtful whether he would have been judged fit to stand trial."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1414837.php |title=Bulldozer killer may have been temporarily insane: lawyer |date=July 3, 2008 |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710114406/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1414837.php |archive-date=July 10, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> "My son never spoke of plans to carry out such an attack, if he had I would have tried to prevent it," Duwait's father, Tayseer told The Media Line as police officers were about to question him.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1819720,00.html |title=Bulldozer Attack Shakes Jerusalem |date=July 2, 2008 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=September 2, 2010 |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420155201/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1819720,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A Jewish ex-girlfriend of Duwait, commented that "he really didn't hate Jews. The fact is that he was with me. It's insanity, but the motivation was not nationalist" and also that his bad temper may have been related to his "[smoking] a lot of drugs."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25534995 |title=Jerusalem attacker had Jewish lover, child |year=2008 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=NBC News |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306002720/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25534995/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Other people have gone on the record as well alleging regular drug abuse by Duwait, one neighbour saying that he was "a drug addict [...]. He'd shoot up all the time. [...] He was really just a junkie."<ref name="haaretz 6">{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/objects/pages/PrintArticle.jhtml?itemNo=998807 |title=A junkie and a martyr |last=Issacharoff |first=Avi |author2=Amos Harel |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=July 5, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Israeli Border Guard officers ordered the Duwait family to remove the mourning tent they erected in the neighborhood for their son. A Border Guard patrol passing through the area identified the construction of the tent and ordered the family to remove it. The family then disassembled the tent without any noted resistance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/149328 |title=Police Order Terrorist's Family to Remove Tent |date=July 3, 2008 |publisher=[[IsraelNationalNews.com]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=August 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803040023/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/149328 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=106399 |title=Terrorist's mourning tent dismantled |date=July 3, 2008 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512114440/https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Terrorists-mourning-tent-dismantled |url-status=live}}</ref> Two days after the attack, defense minister [[Ehud Barak]] ordered the [[House demolition in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|demolition]] of Duwait's and Alaa Abu Dhein's (perpetrator of the Mercaz HaRav massacre) houses, as a stated deterrent against future attacks.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/police-conclude-jerusalem-bulldozer-killer-acted-alone-1.249181 |title=Police conclude Jerusalem bulldozer killer acted alone |date=June 6, 2008 |work=Haaretz |access-date=September 26, 2010 |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102054029/http://www.haaretz.com/news/police-conclude-jerusalem-bulldozer-killer-acted-alone-1.249181 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following the supreme court rejection of appeals by Duwait's family, his home was razed on April 7, 2009, the first such demolition since a military commission recommended against such action in 2005.<ref name="houseDemo">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/police-kill-palestinian-assailant-at-demolition-of-terrorist-s-home-1.273712 |title=Police kill Palestinian assailant at demolition of terrorist's home |work=Haaretz |first=Jonathan |last=Lis |date=April 7, 2009 |access-date=September 26, 2010 |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102054055/http://www.haaretz.com/news/police-kill-palestinian-assailant-at-demolition-of-terrorist-s-home-1.273712 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the demolition, police shot dead a Palestinian motorist who ran over and injured three police officers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/7987317.stm |title=Palestinian 'attacker' shot dead |work=BBC News |date=April 7, 2009 |access-date=September 26, 2010 |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104130018/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/7987317.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Bulldozer attack of July 22===
On July 22, another east Jerusalem Arab resident, Ghassan Abu Tir, rammed his bulldozer (this time it was a smaller [[backhoe loader]]) into cars and a bus on King David street in Jerusalem. He wounded 24 people, including one whose leg was partially severed. He was subsequently killed by a fusillade of gunfire from a [[Israel Border Police|Border Policeman]] and an armed pedestrian. The attack was seen as a [[Copycat crime|copycat]] act of the July 2 attack, causing fears of repeated copycat acts in an emerging new terrorist tactic of [[Vehicular assault as a terrorist tactic|vehicle ramming attacks]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-07-22-2292351145_x.htm |title=Palestinian in construction truck rams cars |last=Copans |first=Laurie |date=July 22, 2008 |newspaper=USA Today |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |access-date=September 6, 2011 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512114411/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-07-22-2292351145_x.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7519404.stm |title=Israelis hit by new digger attack |date=July 22, 2008 |work=[[bbc.co.uk]] |access-date=July 22, 2008 |archive-date=January 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115164120/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7519404.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> The attack happened just down the road from the hotel where Democratic presidential nominee [[Barack Obama]] was due to stay as part of a multi-country visit.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2252341920080723 |title=Bulldozer in Jerusalem rampage before Obama visit |last=Harrison |first=Rebecca |date=July 23, 2008 |work=Reuters |access-date=July 25, 2008 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112212051/https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2252341920080723 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===BMW attack===
{{main|Jerusalem BMW attack}}
On September 22, 2008, Qassem Mughrabi, a resident of East Jerusalem, drove a black [[BMW]] into a group of off-duty soldiers standing on a Jerusalem street, injuring 19.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 22, 2008 |title='J'lem terrorist was a Hamas member' |first=Etgar |last=Lefkovits |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=115286 |access-date=July 19, 2009 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512114433/https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Jlem-terrorist-was-a-Hamas-member |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Terrorist in car rams 19 in J'lem |first=Jonathan |last=Lis |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023468.html |work=Haaretz |access-date=July 19, 2009}}</ref> Mughrabi was subsequently shot dead by one of the soldiers. Police spokesmen asserted the event was a terrorist attack, not a simple traffic collision.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Palestinian Car Rams Israelis |first=Isabel |last=Kershner |date=September 22, 2008 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/world/middleeast/23jerusalem.html?ref=world |access-date=July 19, 2009 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006130710/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/world/middleeast/23jerusalem.html?ref=world |url-status=live}}</ref>

===March 5, 2009, attack===
Two police officers were injured in Jerusalem when an Arab bulldozer driver overturned their police car and rammed it into a bus, before being fatally shot by police and an armed taxi driver. The attack occurred around 1&nbsp;p.m. near the [[Malha]] shopping mall, on Menachem Begin Boulevard in southern Jerusalem. Police said that a copy of the [[Koran]] had been found in the bulldozer after the attack, and that the driver had not been carrying any identification. Israel Police and local residents later identified the man as Marei Radaydeh, a West Bank construction worker in his mid-20s who lived with his family in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of [[Beit Hanina]]. Radaydeh was married and had a daughter. [[Hamas]] praised the attack, calling it a "natural response" to Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem and to Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068909.html |title=Two policemen hurt in bulldozer terror attack in Jerusalem |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=April 3, 2009 |access-date=July 19, 2009 |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416073906/http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068909.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Official reactions==
;Involved parties
{{Flagu|Israel}}:
*[[Prime Minister of Israel]], [[Ehud Olmert]] mentioned that "There is no way to fence-off the Arabs of east Jerusalem and every home of a potential terrorist," and that "We need to stop the terror attacks carried out by east Jerusalem Arabs, and if that must be done through means of deterrence or the demolition of a home – then so be it."<ref name="Ynet">{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3563364,00.html |title=Olmert: We can't fence-off east Jerusalem Arabs |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=November 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108010406/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3563364,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[B'Tselem]] has condemned the plans as "illegal collective punishment."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7490212.stm |title=Israel to destroy attacker's home |date=July 4, 2008 |work=[[bbc.co.uk]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=April 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409130614/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7490212.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[President of Israel]], [[Shimon Peres]] expressed pride in the speedy actions of the soldier who fired at and killed the attacker.<ref name="Israelnn">{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/149290 |title=Peres: I was Proud of the Soldier Who Fired |publisher=IsraelNationalNews.com |date=July 2, 2008 |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705052933/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/149290 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Flag|Palestinian territories}}:
*[[Palestinian National Authority]]: Palestinian President [[Mahmoud Abbas]] condemned the attack stating "We want peaceful solutions through negotiations."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/africa/03iht-mideast.4.14214675.html |title=Israel weighs Jerusalem separation |work=The New York Times |date=July 3, 2008 |access-date=June 8, 2017 |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127072709/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/africa/03iht-mideast.4.14214675.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Hamas]] government in the Gaza Strip praised the attack.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214726186987&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |last=Lefkovits |first=Etgar |title=Terrorist plows bulldozer into vehicles |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=July 2, 2008 |access-date=June 8, 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080918100101/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214726186987&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=September 18, 2008}}</ref>

;Supranational
*{{Flag|United Nations}}: [[Ban Ki-moon]], [[United Nations Secretary-General]] expressed condolences to the relatives of the dead victims, and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.<ref name="Israelnn 2">{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/149292 |title=Ban Ki-Moon Expresses Condolences |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-date=August 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803032024/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/149292 |url-status=live}}</ref>

;International
*{{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: [[British Foreign Secretary]] [[David Miliband]] condemned the attack, calling it a "horrific act."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3563334,00.html |title=Israel demands UN condemnation of attack |first=Yitzhak |last=Benhorin |date=July 2, 2008 |work=[[Ynetnews]] |access-date=July 19, 2009 |archive-date=October 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011233058/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3563334,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{Flagu|United States}}: President of the United States, [[George W. Bush]] spoke over the phone with Israeli PM [[Ehud Olmert]] to express his condolences with the people of Israel, for the "murderous terrorist attack."<ref name="aljazeera">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbP45VON0hU |title=Bulldozer rampage in Jerusalem |date=July 2, 2008 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] |access-date=July 4, 2008 |archive-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115025122/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbP45VON0hU&gl=AU |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[2014 Jerusalem tractor attack]]
*[[List of terrorist incidents, 2008]]
*[[2008 Jerusalem BMW attack]]
*[[Palestinian political violence]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons|Jerusalem terrorist attack July 2, 2008|Jerusalem bulldozer attack}}
{{wikinews|At least four dead, dozens hurt in Jerusalem terror attack}}
*[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Terrorist+attack+on+Jaffa+Road+Jerusalem+2-Jul-2008.htm Terrorist attack on Jaffa Road, Jerusalem] – published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/world/africa/02iht-02mideast.14166972.html At least 3 die as man uses earthmover in Jerusalem attack] – published on ''[[The New York Times]]'' on July 2, 2008
*[https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-07-02-israel-bulldozer-attack_N.htm Driver rams bulldozer into Jerusalem bus; 3 dead, dozens hurt] – published on [[USA Today]] on July 2, 2008
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7485230.stm In pictures: Jerusalem bulldozer carnage] – published on [[BBC News]] on July 2, 2008

{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2000s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s}}
{{Vehicle-ramming attacks}}
{{Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}

{{good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerusalem bulldozer, 2008}}
[[Category:2008 in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2008]]
[[Category:Filmed killings in Asia]]
[[Category:Terrorist attacks carried out by Arab citizens of Israel]]
[[Category:Attacks on buses by Palestinian militant groups]]
[[Category:Murders by motor vehicle]]
[[Category:Vehicle-ramming attacks in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:July 2008 crimes in Asia]]
[[Category:July 2008 in Asia]]
[[Category:2008 murders in Asia]]
[[Category:2008 road incidents]]
[[Category:2000s road incidents in Asia]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents involving vehicular attacks in Asia]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 2000s]]
[[Category:2000s vehicle-ramming attacks]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2008]]
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in Jerusalem]]