The incident followed a surge since last week in Palestinian attacks on Israelis, mostly with crude weapons like knives and rocks, and a crackdown by Israeli security forces. Four Israelis and 23 Palestinians have been killed in 12 days of violence.
"The driver shouted 'Allah Hu Akbar' ('God is great' in Arabic) and detonated an explosive device," a police spokeswoman said of Sunday's attack.
Police initially said the woman had been killed, but amended this to say she had been wounded. Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said she was in critical condition. The police officer was lightly injured.
