Palestinian driver critically injured near Ramallah; police say he sped at officers
Police claim officer fired at vehicle after it accelerated toward him, causing man to crash into roadblock
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A Palestinian man was critically injured Sunday morning near the village of Ayoun al-Haramiya, north of Ramallah in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority’s General Authority for Civilian Affairs, after Israeli police said he accelerated toward an officer.
The Israel Police said traffic officers were alerted to a vehicle speeding down Route 60.
According to police, officers who arrived at the scene ordered the driver to stop. When one of the officers approached the car, the driver accelerated toward him, prompting the officer to fire at the vehicle, police said.
Police said the driver then attempted to flee but crashed into a nearby concrete roadblock.
The PA said the man, identified as 34-year-old Amar Hijazi of Nablus, was in “very critical” condition at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
The agency originally reported that Hijazi was killed by Israeli forces, claiming that his body had been taken by Israel. However, they later retracted that statement, saying Israel withdrew information previously conveyed to them that Hijazi had been killed.
وسائل إعلام فلسطينية: الشرطة الإسرائيلية أطلقت النار على فلسطيني داخل مركبته في منطقة عيون الحرامية شمالي رام الله pic.twitter.com/ROsabo1Iu8
— Annahar Al Arabi (@AnnaharAr) January 25, 2026
Videos circulating online appeared to show the moments after the incident, with police officers approaching a small black vehicle that seemed to have sustained damage from a crash near a bus stop.
The incident came amid heightened tensions in the West Bank following a series of violent settler attacks across the territory over the weekend, including near the area where Sunday’s incident took place.
The Times of Israel Community.