An unknown Palestinian group, called “Groups of Martyr Baha Eleyan” has claimed responsibility for the truck attack in Jerusalem on Monday that led to the death of four Israeli soldiers. A member of the obscure group killed a female officer and three officer cadets by driving ramming a truck into a group of Israeli soldiers. The Palestinian driver was shot dead. “We know the identity of the attacker. According to all the signs he is a supporter of Islamic State,” Netanyahu said. However, the Palestinian group claimed on Arabic social media it had carried out the attack, while threatening to conduct more attacks in the future. The group’s name was taken from a Palestinian who had murdered three Israelis on a bus in 2015. “This is not the first operation executed by our groups and it will be followed by a flood of distinctive operations in defence of our Jerusalem and in revenge of our martyrs and prisoners,” its statement said. Netanyahu visited some of the injured in hospital on Monday and said Israel needed to prepare to face a different threat.
“I think the most important thing we need to understand is that we are under a new kind of attack. An attack by a lone assailant who is inspired, and on the spur of the moment decides to act, in this case, a ramming attack,” he told reporters.