Two policeman were injured in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, when an Arab commandeered a bulldozer and went on a rampage near the Malcha shopping mall.
Haaretz reported that the perpetrator was Marei Radaydehan, an Arab construction worker in his mid-20s from Beit Hanina, an East Jerusalem neighborhood. “Eyewitness Shuli Cohen told Israel Radio that Radaydeh had used the bulldozer’s front blade to flip over the police car. The two officers inside were lightly hurt, Israel Police said,” according to the report.
In the larger Israeli-Arab conflict context, Haaretz also reported on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday. The newspaper reports: “She blasted Israel’s plans to demolish Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem as a violation of its international obligations and ‘unhelpful’ to Middle East peace efforts.Â
In a blog post this week, commentator Bernard Avishai translates Clinton’s comments as: “America regards East Jerusalem as part of a future Palestinian state, and further Israeli efforts at prejudicing Arab residency in Jerusalem as incendiary.”
