The Israeli policeman jumped into the suspicious vehicle. Photo: Screenshot.

A quick-thinking Israeli Border Police officer averted a suicide car bombing last Sunday, when he dove head-first through the window to wrest control of the vehicle, as it fled through a checkpoint south of Jerusalem.

Recently released dramatic security camera footage of the event, which took place near Beitar Ilit, shows the driver trying to gun the vehicle out of the inspection lane, and then the policeman who was questioning him throwing himself through the driver’s window:

The car was rigged with heavy explosives and tanks of gasoline.

One of the policemen said the driver was acting “suspiciously,” and that he refused to turn off the engine of the car. The policeman leaned in to the vehicle to turn the ignition off himself, but the driver accelerated before he had a chance. The car dragged the policeman a few meters with his body hanging out the window until he drew his service weapon and ordered the driver to stop.

The suspect was arrested and the car was subsequently searched. In the trunk, police discovered gasoline canisters and explosives linked to a detonator. The car was neutralized and the suspect was taken in for questioning.