IDF: Palestinian teens attack troops with bomb; 1 shot dead
Second assailant reportedly injured by Israeli fire as they throw explosive at soldiers at northern West Bank crossing
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
Two Palestinian teenagers were shot as they attacked a group of Israeli soldiers at an army post in the northern West Bank on Monday night, the military said.
One of the assailants, a 19-year-old, was killed, and the second, 15, was seriously wounded, according to Palestinian health officials.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the two threw an explosive device at soldiers guarding the Jalameh Crossing, near Jenin.
In response, the servicemen opened fire at the assailants.
No IDF soldiers were injured in the incident, the army said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said the attacker who was killed had been shot in the head. He was identified as Abed Allah Tawalbeh. The other was reportedly shot in the buttock and taken to a Jenin hospital for treatment.
Recent weeks have seen a number of attacks by Palestinians against Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
Last Wednesday, a Palestinian teenage girl was shot dead as she tried to stab an Israeli security officer at a checkpoint outside Jerusalem on Wednesday, police said.
The Palestinian girl was identified as Samah Mubarak, 16, from the nearby village of al-Ram, the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported.
She was wounded and later pronounced dead, the West Bank’s Palestinian health ministry said.
Two weeks ago, a Palestinian man attempted to carry out a stabbing attack against Israeli troops near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, but was shot dead, the Israel Defense Forces said.
On January 11, a Palestinian man also tried to stab Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron, but he was shot and critically injured by the soldiers first, the army said.
December saw a significant increase in West Bank terror attacks, leading to the death of two IDF soldiers and a baby born prematurely after his mother was seriously wounded. At least 10 other civilians and soldiers were injured in the string of attacks.
