IDF: Palestinian attempts ramming, stabbing near Ariel in West Bank, is shot dead

A Palestinian man attempted to carry out a car-ramming and stabbing attack in the West Bank on Thursday afternoon and was subsequently shot dead, the military and medics said.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the man drove onto the opposite lane on the Route 5 highway, and tried to ram his car into civilians and security forces at the Gitai Avisar Junction near the West Bank settlement of Ariel. The suspect then got out of his car while allegedly brandishing a knife, before being shot dead by troops.

“The terrorist was holding a knife and IDF forces neutralized him,” the military said in a statement, adding that the suspect attempted to stab a police officer.

The Rescuers Without Borders emergency service said the suspect died of his wounds. He was named by the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry as 39-year-old Ahmed Taha.

The service added that one Palestinian was lightly hurt after the suspect crashed his car into a Palestinian-owned vehicle during the ramming attempt.

A graphic video circulating online showed a police officer standing next to the crashed vehicle, before the suspect got out suddenly. The officer was seen attempting to reach for his weapon, as two soldiers standing nearby opened fire.

The video showed one of the soldiers continuing to fire at the suspect after he was on the ground for several seconds.

The scene of an alleged attempted stabbing in the West Bank on April 27, 2023. (Rescuers Without Borders)

No Israelis were hurt in the attack, the military and the emergency service said.

The Route 5 highway was closed in both directions near the junction, local authorities said.

Tensions in the West Bank have been high for the past year, with the Israeli military conducting near-nightly raids amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.

Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 19 people dead since the beginning of the year and several more seriously hurt.

At least 94 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, but some were uninvolved civilians and others were killed under circumstances that are being investigated.