Gush Etzion mayor calls on government to ‘restore calm and safety’ after attack

Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman calls on “the government and the security forces to restore calm and ensure safety for the residents of the area” following a suspected car-ramming attack by a Palestinian driver near the Karmei Tzur settlement, south of the Gush Etzion Junction.

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack, which investigators have not yet confirmed was deliberate.

The driver, identified by Palestinian officials as Ramzi Abu Yabes, a male nurse from the nearby Deheishe refugee camp, was shot dead by another soldier.

“We’re on the main road, Route 60, which is used by thousands of Jewish drivers each day,” Ne’eman says in a statement. “This is a serious terror attack that continues a series of attacks against Israelis… We will be strong and continue to develop settlement in Gush Etzion, and our enemies won’t succeed in disrupting that,” he says.