U.S. Condemns Truck Ramming Attack in Jerusalem

-A Palestinian attack on Israeli soldiers Sunday broke months of relative calm in Jerusalem and underscored a raw debate about how best to protect the state.

In a written statement, Security Council members expressed their condolences to the government and people of Israel.

“The American stance [relocating the embassy] contradicts the global position that Jerusalem is still occupied”, the statement read.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said “all signs point to the attacker being a supporter of the Islamic State (IS)”, but police said they have no evidence yet to release about possible IS links.

Qanbar was shot dead by other soldiers and a tour guide.

Police only confirmed four people were dead, but a medic at the scene said they were soldiers.

Most recently, Trump has appointed his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a senior adviser expected to focus on Middle East issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The driver had veered off the road toward a group of off-duty soldiers who had just exited the bus to grab some food.

Also on Monday, Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister had cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland which starts next week. “We are fighting this plague, and will defeat it together”, he said.

The truck slammed into a group of soldiers stood on a promenade in a popular tourist spot in the east of the city, Israeli media reported.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What do we know about the truck driver who carried out the attack?

Since September 2015, Palestinian attackers have killed 40 Israelis and two visiting Americans in knife attacks, shootings and assaults using cars to ram into people.

After the attack, Netanyahu made a highly controversial claim that the driver was a militant with the self-declared “Islamic State” (IS) group.

Hundreds of young soldiers gathered in the cold, while her three sisters and mother screamed and cried hysterically as her coffin was lowered into the ground.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, denies that allegation, and says assailants have acted out of frustration over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians in peace talks that have stalled since 2014.

Contrary to what President Obama still claims, it’s the Palestinian leadership that has yet to show any real commitment to a two-state solution – that safeguards Israel’s security and national identity.