Mother of Palestinian driver killed in Jerusalem says son was 'targeted' by police

The mother of a Palestinian driver who ran over and killed a 3-month old Israeli baby and injured eight other people in Jerusalem on Wednesday has said that her son had been "targeted" by Israeli occupation forces.

"They did not give him space to either work or live," Enas al-Sherif, the mother of Abdel-Rahman al-Sheloudi, a resident of the East Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

Al-Sheloudi, 23, died late Wednesday at a Jerusalem hospital after being shot by an Israeli policeman in the incident's aftermath.

His mother said, however, that her son had been subject to pressure by the Israeli government, especially during a 20-day stint in an Israeli jail in February.

"They confiscated his driver's license, making it difficult for him to find work," she said.

"They even took his mobile phones."

Al-Sherif, who considers her slain son a "martyr," said on Wednesday that she had not known that he was outside at the time of the incident.

"We were together at the doctor's office in the morning to check up on his health, but on the way back, he said he wouldn't come home with us," she recalled.

When al-Sheloudi returned home, she added, she had asked him where he had been and he answered: "I was at Al-Aqsa Mosque."

She said she did not know when her son left the house again, believing he was asleep at the time.

After the incident, she said, a relative had called and told her that her son had been in an accident.

"I initially thought it was a normal accident," al-Sherif said. "Then I read about the accident on some news websites, but I did not link it to my son."

Bitter memories

When al-Sheloudi was detained by Israeli forces in February, his father, uncles and grandmother were all beaten by Israeli troops, according to the grieving mother.

"His psychological state was not good," she said. "He was terrified that Israeli troops would storm the house; he couldn't complete a sentence."

Al-Sheloudi's mother said his family had not been informed of the nature of the charges levelled against him.

She said the Israeli government had said his files were "classified," adding that his lawyer had not been allowed to review his files either. Her son, she said, had been scheduled to see a psychiatrist on 9 November.

Al-Sheloudi was detained twice by Israeli authorities.

Israeli police said in a statement on Wednesday that al-Sheloudi had been driving in Jerusalem when he diverted his car towards a light railroad, where a handful of Israelis had been awaiting the train.

Police added that an Israeli baby was killed, while eight other people were injured in the incident.

Al-Sheloudi tried to flee the scene on foot, but a policeman shot and injured him, police said in the statement.

Preliminary investigations, police say, had shown that the accident was a "hostile" act. Al-Sheloudi was declared dead at a Jerusalem hospital a few hours later.

Palestinian faction Hamas said in a Thursday statement that al-Sheloudi had been one of its members. The group did not, however, claim responsibility for Wednesday's deadly car crash.

Father’s eulogy

The father of Chaya Zissel, the child killed in al-Sheloudi’s crash, on Thursday eulogised his three month old daughter at her funeral.

“Zissila, you were pure,” said Shmuel Elimelech Braun, reportedly choking back tears.

“In the last hour, you were by the Kotel. You woke up. We schmoozed with each other.”

He recalled taking his daughter to the Western Wall of the Al-Aqsa compound (known to Jews as the Temple Mount), regarded as holy to both Jews and Muslims.

“You looked at me and smiled,” Braun said. “I told you, this is the Kotel, this is Har Habayit [Temple Mount].”

His eulogy was partly in English and partially in Yiddish.

He and his wife had originally come to Israel from New York so that Braun could study in a yeshiva (Jewish religious school).

Chaya was born after years of unsuccessfully trying to have children.

“You made us happy from the moment you [arrived],” Braun said.