Jerusalem - The East Jerusalem Palestinian who killed three Israelis Wednesday when he ran amuck with a bulldozer in Jerusalem did not belong to any militant organzation and may have acted out of temporary insanity, his family's lawyer said Thursday.

Israel Radio quoted the lawyer, Shimon Koko, as saying that had Hussam Duwiyat not been killed during his rampage, it is doubtful whether he would have been judged fit to stand trial.

He said Duwiyat, 30, was a drugs and property felon and did not act out of religious fundamentalist motives. Israel Radio reported that Duwiyat had also served two years in jail for rape.

Koko said Israel had to prove Duwiyat had in fact been a terrorist before demolishing his home, as Israeli leaders and politicians are demanding be done.

Duwiyat was the second East Jerusalem resident to carry out an attack in the Western, Israeli, part of the city this year. In March, another East Jerusalem resident burst into a religious school or yeshiva, opened fire and killed eight students.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak has requested that the homes of both men be demolished.

Representatives of the army and the State Attorney's Office are to meet Thursday to discuss the legal issues involved in such an act.

Duwiyat had taken a bulldozer from the construction site where he was working and went on the rampage along one of West Jerusalem's main traffic thoroughfares Wednesday afternoon, killing three and injuring at least 40 others when he ploughed into cars and flipped a passenger bus onto its side before being shot dead. (dpa)