Motorcyclist killed at dangerous West Bank junction

A motorcycle rider in his 60s is declared dead by the Magen David Adom ambulance service after being hit by a truck in the West Bank near the Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.

The victim is described as a man in his 60s.

The collision took place on Route 398, a West Bank road used by both Palestinians and settlers, at an intersection where nearly all Palestinian traffic from the outskirts of Bethlehem has been funneled due to all other eastward access points being blocked after October 7, 2023, creating chaotic congestion and dangerous conditions at the unregulated junction.

In January, Israeli authorities retroactively okayed the illegal settler outpost of Shdema next to the junction, putting further pressure on the intersection.