A terrorist driving a black BMW ran his car into a crowd of pedestrians at a busy intersection in central Jerusalem near the Old City on Monday evening.

At least 17 people were confirmed wounded at Zahal Square, most in light-to-moderate condition. Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated those wounded to the Hadassah Ein Karem and Shaare Zedek hospitals for treatment.

Most of those wounded are reportedly soldiers belonging to the Artillery Corps who were on a 'Selichot Tour' in Jerusalem. Selichot are Jewish penitential prayers said during the High Holidays. 

The terrorist, a Palestinian from east Jerusalem, was shot dead by an IDF officer holding the rank of lieutenant who was with the soldiers.

A female civilian sustained moderate-to-serious wounds.  

Wounded soldier evacuated to hospital (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Rescue services rushed to the scene, and police have blocked traffic in the area. Sappers examined the terrorist's body, fearing he may have been wearing a bomb belt. 

The terrorist reportedly began his rampage on Shivtei Yisrael Street. Security authorities say they have been able to ascertain the identity of the terrorist, it has not yet been released for publication.

"The terrorist was in a private car, he rammed straight into a group of people touring the area," said first

responded Haim Weingreten, a ZAKA volunteer.

Police say had no alerts

Jerusalem District Commander Aharon Franco said that police officials did not have a specific warning regarding an intention to carry out an attack in Jerusalem.

"This attack could have taken place anywhere," he said. "The police are deployed in force in order to prevent such incidents.

Earlier this summer, Jerusalem was the scene of two similar attacks. In the first attack, three people were murdered after an east Jerusalem terrorist went on a rampage with his bulldozer, targeting passersby in central Jerusalem. More than 30 people sustained wounds in the attack.

Three weeks later, a terrorist who went on a similar rampage was shot to death early into his attack. As a result, he was unable to murder anyone, but 18 people were wounded in the attack. The terrorist who perpetrated the second rampage was also from east Jerusalem.

"This attack could have taken place anywhere," he said. "The police are deployed in force in order to prevent such incidents."

As opposed to the previous bulldozer attacks, Monday's terrorist driving a black BMW ran his car into a group of soldiers and civilians at a busy intersection near the Old City. The terrorist's identity has been relayed to security authorities, who have launched an investigation into the attack.

In the first such attack in the capital this summer, an east Jerusalem resident driving a bulldozer went on a rampage, killing three people and wounding 36, most of them lightly.

Three weeks later, a terrorist who went on a similar rampage was shot to death early into his attack, after wounding 18 people.

The police's announcement that the terrorist behind Monday night's attack in the capital was an east Jerusalem resident did not come as a huge surprise, to put it mildly. The latest rampage marked the third time this summer that a Jerusalem Arab got behind the wheel and proceeded to target Jews.

East Jerusalem Arabs, who enjoy free access to the capital courtesy of their Israeli ID cards, have been increasingly taking advantage of their privileged status for purposes that have nothing to do with making a living – in fact, they have been using Israel's kindness in order to sow death and destruction on the streets of Jerusalem.

Following the first such attack, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared that "there is no way to fence-off the Arabs of east Jerusalem and every home of a potential terrorist." However, now that he has been sent to early retirement, perhaps we can make an effort to come up with new and creative ways to counter the east Jerusalem threat.

And make no mistake about it: This threat has been growing exponentially. Earlier this year, Shin Bet officials noted that in the first half of 2008 alone, 71 east Jerusalem Arabs have been detained on terror-related charges, a figure that marks a huge increase from previous years. Moreover, the Shin Bet admitted that current security measures aimed at thwarting such attacks are insufficient.

Israeli officials have been notorious for their slow response time to new developments, but now that we have seen three rampages in one summer, perhaps someone up there will wake up and formulate a response that extends beyond the customary-yet-meaningless pledges to "do more."

Given the growing participation of east Jerusalem residents in terror activity, the time has come to adopt harsher measures against this population group. For starters, Israel should revoke the residency rights of any terrorist's immediate family, and possibly expel them out of Jerusalem Perhaps this would counterbalance the murderous urges of future terrorists, who would know that their actions are sure to have severe repercussions for their loved ones.

Moreover, Israel should also consider revoking the employment rights of any east Jerusalem resident with a criminal record. Statistics show that such individuals have a higher likelihood of committing terror acts, so such move would prevent them from securing employment in Jerusalem and gaining easy access to killing machines such as bulldozers.

In fact, another, more "pre-emptive", option would be to automatically revoke the residency rights of east Jerusalem residents convicted of crimes and expel them to Gaza. Just like a criminal record would prevent such individuals from entering the United States, there is no reason why we should allow them into Israel, particularly when this could have lethal consequences.

There are certainly many measures that can be introduced in a bid to reduce the threat and boost the level of deterrence, yet the most fundamental transformation required of our leaders is a change in perception. Political correctness and our sense of weakness must be replaced by determination, creativity, and most of all the realization that our ongoing helplessness will encourage more such attacks. We just cannot afford to do nothing; it's simply killing us.

Sam Goldenwood is the pen name of a former member of Israel's security establishment

'Right now we need elections'

A Syrian troop build-up on the northern border with Lebanon has worried Lebanese security officials, despite Damascus insisting that the move is solely to stop smuggling in the region.

'Fears are exaggerated'