Palestinian jailed for 25 years over Jerusalem car attack

A Palestinian who injured four Israeli border policewomen and a civilian when he drove his car into them was sentenced Sunday to 25 years in prison, the Israeli justice ministry said.

Court documents released by the ministry said that Mohammed Sleiman, from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, admitted to five counts of attempted murder in a plea bargain.

In March, Sleiman ploughed into a group of Israeli border policewomen as they crossed a busy road outside their base on the line separating west and east Jerusalem, wounding four of them.

He then hit a civilian cyclist, the court transcript said.

"Immediately afterwards, the accused stopped his vehicle, and got out, carrying an axe," it said.

It added that he ran toward a border policeman and a security guard at the base entrance who both ordered him to halt, then shot and wounded him when he continued to advance.

The prosecution said the attack was premeditated.

"He had decided in his heart to carry out a terrorist attack by murdering Jews," the transcript read.

In addition to the jail term, Sleiman was ordered to pay compensation totalling 260,00 shekels ($68,420, 61,900 euros).

The March 6 incident mirrored a spate of attacks in Jerusalem in October and November last year, where Palestinians drove into groups of pedestrians, killing several people.

Those attackers were shot dead at the scene.