Israeli Pm Blames Abbas For Jerusalem Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for an attack in Jerusalem in which a 3-month baby was killed.



"Only a few days ago, Abbas incited toward a terrorist attack in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said in a statement on Wednesday.



A baby was killed and eight people were injured when a Palestinian driver ran over passengers in Jerusalem on Wednesday.



Following the attack, Netanyahu held security consultations with the heads of security units over the phone.



"This is how Abu Mazen's (Abbas) partners in government act," Netanyahu said during the conversation.



Israeli police said that the attacker had been shot as he tried to flee the scene.



Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there was a strong possibility that the incident constituted a "terror attack." 



The tram line, which runs through East Jerusalem, links West Jerusalem to the Jewish-only Pitgadzev settlement.



Security was stepped up on the light rail line this summer after a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was kidnapped and killed by Jewish settlers near East Jerusalem's Shufat tram station.



Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.



By Turgut Alp Boyraz



englishnews@aa.com.tr



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