Captain Ariel Topaz, 24 who was critically hurt in the terror attack near Ramla in central Israel earlier this month, succumbed to his wounds. Doctors fought for Topaz's life in the days following the attack.
Two others were hurt when a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem rammed his car at the group among them one who had been at the nearby military base to receive treatment for his PTSD after five of his comrades were killed when the building they were in, blew up in Gaza in June. "He was still grieving for his friends and now this happens where he least expected it," his sister said.
Eyewitnesses said a Toyota drove up to the intersection and rammed into two men who were able to shoot and neutralize the driver. He was identified as a resident of East Jerusalem.
The police said the initial investigation revealed that the terrorist rammed a number of Israelis waiting at a bus stop and went on to drive others down the road. He was shot by a Border Police force that was present and killed him while in his car.
"It is our job to determine if the terrorist was acting alone," the commander of the Police Central Command Avi Biton, said. He did not discount the possibility that others were involved. "We are in the midst of extremely sensitive times and our primary mission is to provide security," he said.
The attack came a day after the IDF strike on the outskirts of Khan Younis in an attempted assassination of Mohammed Deif, commander of the Hamas military wing and amid subsequent calls by Hamas to launch attacks against Israelis.