Israel: Jerusalem Bulldozer Attack Marks Rise in Violence

Today's incident marks the fourth serious attack on Israel this year following a lull in violence in 2007.

In February, a woman was killed and 11 people injured in the town of Dimona, in which was the first suicide bombing inside Israel in more than a year.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by hardliners within the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a group linked to the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

In March, eight students were killed when a gunman opened fire at Mercz Harav Yeshiva, one of Jersusalem's largest seminaries. It was the worst incident inside Israel since April 2006.

In May, 90 people were injured when a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hit a busy shopping mall in central Ashkelon.

The rising violence this year is yet to match the scale of attacks in 2002 at the height of the Palestinian intifada, when 220 people were killed in 55 separate attacks.

Last year there was only one fatal attack inside Israel, when three employees of a bakery were killed in a suicide bombing in the southern city of Eilat.

The decrease in violence has been attributed to the effectiveness of the West Bank barrier in restricting access for Palestinians.