5 soldiers wounded, one seriously, in West Bank car-ramming attack
Attacker shot dead by troops at the scene near military position, close to Adorayim Junction
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a car-ramming attack in the southern West Bank on Friday, the military said.
The Israel Defense Forces said the attack took place near a military position close to the Adorayim Junction, north of the settlement of Otniel.
One soldier was listed in serious condition, while the other four were light-to-moderately hurt, according to the IDF. All five were taken to hospitals in Israel for treatment.
Troops operating in the area shot and killed the assailant.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said it was notified by Israel of the man’s death, indicating his body was being held by Israeli authorities. The ministry named him as Amr Abd al-Fattah Abu Hussein.
Hours later, the IDF said that its troops “neutralized” a Palestinian suspect who hurled an explosive at a military post on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
From the scene of the car-ramming near the Route 60 highway, close to the Adorayim Junction, north of the settlement of Otniel. pic.twitter.com/NXTzG1mAtj
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 29, 2023
A statement from the army said soldiers in the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection unit who were on a mission near the Palestinian town of Abu Dis spotted the suspect throwing the explosive and shot him.
The IDF didn’t give details on the suspect’s condition, but the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reports a man in the area was shot dead by Israeli forces.
No troops were wounded in the incident.
The incidents came one day after two people were wounded in a stabbing attack at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said Thursday its medics treated a woman, later identified as a border security officer in her 20s, and a man, a 25-year-old civilian security guard, at the Mazmuria checkpoint near the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa.
Health officials said both were hospitalized and were in light-to-moderate condition.
The alleged assailant, a 24-year-old East Jerusalem resident, was shot dead by security forces at the scene, police said in a statement.
According to a Times of Israel reporter who witnessed the attack, the assailant got out of a car and attacked officers guarding the checkpoint, before being shot by those he’d stabbed.
Tensions in Israel and the West Bank have been high since October 7, when some 3,000 terrorists burst through the Gaza border into Israel in a Hamas-led attack, killing at least 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seizing some 240 hostages.
Israel responded with an aerial campaign and subsequent ground operation with the goal of destroying Hamas and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza and securing the release of the hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces has continued to operate throughout the West Bank and police have been on high alert in Israel, in light of concerns about a possible escalation of violence.
