Driver killed in fiery wreck after suspected West Bank ramming attack
Body of alleged attacker pulled from burning, crashed vehicle after incident near settlement; Hamas praises ‘new act of resistance’
A driver attempted to ram into Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank settlement of Mevo Dotan on Tuesday night, the military said.
There were no serious injuries to Israelis in the incident in the northern West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces said. The driver, whose car went up in flames following an apparent crash after the ramming attempt, was killed.
Soldiers opened fire and “neutralized” the driver as he accelerated toward their guard post. The vehicle then crashed into a military jeep, causing both to catch on fire, the military said.
Two soldiers were lightly injured but did not need to go to a hospital for treatment, Army Radio reported.
An emergency services spokesperson for West Bank settlements said firefighters found the body of the alleged attacker inside one of the burning vehicles.
Palestinian media identified the alleged rammer as Abd al-Aziz Hekmat Mousa, a 22-year-old resident of Marka, near Jenin.
Video from the scene showed firefighters hosing down two burning vehicles next to a concrete guard tower.
The Hamas terror group praised the alleged attack.
“A new act of resistance by mighty Jenin, whose revolutionary youth are responding to the crimes of the occupation,” said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasim, referring to the nearby Palestinian city.
The terror group did not take responsibility for the suspected attack.
In March 2018, at the same military checkpoint, two soldiers were killed in a ramming attack.
The past few weeks have seen a rise in Palestinian terror attacks, with four taking place in Jerusalem alone, including a deadly shooting committed by a member of Hamas.
There has also been a noted rise in settler violence toward Palestinians.
Last week, Palestinian terrorists opened fire at a car of students from the illegally constructed yeshiva, or religious school, at Homesh, killing Yehuda Dimentman and wounding two others.
Israeli forces arrested suspects in the attack in a series of raids on Sunday morning. The Shin Bet security service said the terror cell involved in the attack belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.
In the most recent attack, a 38-year-old man was lightly hurt on Saturday morning when he was stabbed at a checkpoint close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron.
In the past, Israeli security forces have fired on drivers who they believed to be a threat, but did not intend to carry out an attack.
