2008 Jerusalem BMW attack

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

On 22 September 2008, in Jerusalem, a 19-year-old Palestinian named Qassem Mughrabi drove a black BMW into a group of civilians and off-duty soldiers, injuring 19 people. The driver was shot dead at the scene by off-duty soldier Lt. Elad Amar. Police said the attack was deliberate and politically motivated.

Mughrabi’s family said he did not have a license and that it was an accident, while some sources suggested he was connected to Hamas. No group claimed responsibility.

This incident was part of a small cluster of Jerusalem vehicle-ramming attacks in 2008, following earlier attacks on 2 July and 22 July. Analysts described the tactic as potentially less deadly than suicide bombing but possibly harder to prevent, and as a sign of a trend that would appear in other countries in the years to come. Some Israeli lawmakers called for demolishing Mughrabi’s home as a deterrent.