Police Release Footage of Palestinian Driver in Tuesday’s Attack Swerving Into Officer

Israel Police released Wednesday a video showing the moment a car driven by a Palestinian man plowed into a security checkpoint in Abu Dis, near Yerushalayim, on Tuesday, in an attempt to counter claims that Israeli security forces shot and killed the man for no reason.

In the video, the car slowly moves toward the checkpoint before suddenly speeding up and swerving into a booth. The driver, 27-year-old Ahmad Erekat, then exits the car and is immediately shot and killed.

“He waited for a good moment, turned from the center of the lane to get a better angle to hurt the officer and then accelerated, turning his car 90 degrees and drove wildly at the officer,” a police statement said.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said on Tuesday that the man killed was his relative, and that he was shot at for no apparent reason – which is proven wrong by the footage.

“This young man was killed in cold blood. What the [IDF] claims, that he was trying to run someone over, is a lie,” he said.

Earlier Wednesday, Saeb Erekat called for an international probe of the incident.

One Border Police officer was lightly wounded in the incident.