Four people were killed and 13 wounded when a truck driver deliberately rammed into pedestrians on a popular promenade overlooking the walled Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday.

The truck, with Israeli license plates, rammed towards pedestrians waiting at a bus stop and hit them deliberately.

"The terrorist came from the direction of Alar Street. He noticed a group of people coming off a bus that stopped along the promenade. As far as we know, he sped up and hit them," said a Jerusalem police spokesperson.

Police said the terrorist was shot and neutralized. He was later identified as Fadi al-Kanabir, a released prisoner from Jabel Mukaber, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem that borders East Talpiot.

Policer commissioner Roni Alsheich said that there was no prior warning to the attack, but that police are intensely preparing to react quickly to threats and to thwart attacks as often as possible.

Magen David Adom paramedics treated and evacuated 13 wounded to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem and to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Among them, three in serious condition, one in moderate-to-serious condition and nine were lightly hurt.

The Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, declared after the attack : "To our dismay, there is no limit to the cruelty of the terrorists who are willing to use any means possible to murder Jews and to damage the life routine of Israel's capital."

"Those who incite and fan the flames and those who support terror must pay a heavy price. I call the residents of Jerusalem and the country at large to be alert and despite this hard terror attack to carry on in your daily routines, and do not let terror win," Barkat.