Palestinian admits car attack in Jerusalem

A Palestinian who drove his car into two Israeli pedestrians last week, killing one of them, has admitted the incident was a deliberate act, a police statement said on Tuesday.

"I sought to kill Jews to revenge my miserable life," Khaled Kotina, 37-year-old resident of the Palestinian suburb of Anata north of Jerusalem, told his interrogators.

Kotina said that a few hours before the incident, he drove his parents from Anata to east Jerusalem, but they were held at an Israeli checkpoint for long time, and that enraged him, and prompted him to make up his mind for the move.

The information was revealed Tuesday after the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court lifted a gag order on the investigation.

Late Wednesday night, Kotina rammed his car into two Israelis who were waiting at a bus stop. He killed Shalom Cherki, a 25-year-old resident of Jerusalem, and severely injured Shira Klein, a woman in her early twenties.

Kotina initially denied he was intentional, claiming the accident occurred due to bad weather conditions.

The incident came amid a surge of attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem, as tensions are soaring between Israelis and Palestinians over access to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, or the Temple Mount, a holy place to both Muslims and Jews.

The latest attack took place in April, as a Palestinian slammed his vehicle into commuters at a tram stop in east Jerusalem, injuring at least seven people. He was shot dead by police. Endit