2 injured in car-ramming attack at West Bank checkpoint
Palestinian shot after driving vehicle into A’zaim checkpoint near Ma’ale Adumim
Two people were lightly injured after a Palestinian driver rammed his car into a West Bank checkpoint east of Jerusalem Wednesday night, the latest in a series of attacks throughout the day.
The driver was shot by a border policeman and injured during the incident at the A’zaim checkpoint, between the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and Jerusalem, police said.
A spokesman from the Magen David Adom rescue service said the two people were lightly injured and taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment.
A statement from the police said the car was driven by a Palestinian and was coming from the West Bank when it ran into checkpoint.
“A car traveling from the direction of Ma’ale Adumim attempted to break through the barricade at the A’zaim checkpoint and run over a police office. The Border Police officer that was in immediate danger fired at the terrorist and injured him,” the statement read.
However, officials were also investigating whether the incident was a car accident and not an attack, according to the Ynet news website.
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If ruled an attack, it would be the fifth incident throughout the day that left Israelis injured, coming as tensions have ramped up amid what many in Israel are terming a “terror wave.”
Earlier in the day, a Palestinian man stabbed a soldier in the central Israeli city of Kiryat Gat and then stole his gun, before being shot and killed by responding police.
Two other Israeli civilians were stabbed in separate attacks in Jerusalem and near Tel Aviv throughout the day.
Also, a woman driving in the West Bank near Jerusalem was lightly injured when her car was set upon by rock-throwing Palestinian rioters, who she said tried to pull her out of her car.
Wednesday’s spate followed several other terror attacks over the last several days which left four Israelis dead.
Palestinians have also clashed with Israeli troops daily throughout the West Bank, leaving three Palestinians dead and a number of soldiers injured.
On Tuesday and Wednesday night, violence was also reported in the Israeli cities of Jaffa, Lod and Umm al-Fahm, as Israeli Arabs protested Israeli policies.
Israeli officials have said they wish to calm tensions, which were sparked over Arab fears that Israel planned on expanding its control over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem — denied by Israel — but have also vowed to crack down on the wave of attacks.
“We are still in the midst of a wave of terror,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday while visiting a police station. “We have known worse times than this and we will also overcome this wave of terrorism with determination, responsibility and unity.”
The Times of Israel Community.