Palestinian shot dead during alleged ramming attempt in the West Bank, IDF says
Suspect identified by security source as junior officer in the PA police; military said hours earlier it had prevented two other attempted attacks on troops
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Israel Defense Force soldiers shot and killed a suspect in the West Bank on Monday after, according to the military, he accelerated his vehicle toward them in a threatening manner, in the third incident to apparently target troops in the West Bank within less than 24 hours.
No Israeli injuries were reported in the incident, which took place near Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank.
A security source later identified the suspect as Abd al-Rahman Mahza Abu al-Rub, a junior officer in the Palestinian Authority’s Tulkarem police department. He held a rank equivalent to lieutenant.
The military, in a statement, said that al-Rab had accelerated toward troops stationed at the Einav checkpoint near Tulkarem “in a manner that posed a threat,” leading soldiers to open fire and “neutralize” him in response.
The Palestinian Authority health minister later confirmed al-Rub’s death, and said the IDF had taken away his body.
Earlier on Monday, the military announced that it had halted two separate attacks on troops, including another attempted ramming.
ارتقاء الشاب عبد الرحمن حمزة ابو الرب (مرتب الشرطة في طولكرم )من قرية جلبون شرق جنين جراء اطلاق النار على سيارته على حاجز عناب https://t.co/lSxD2k4ITP pic.twitter.com/ptoGEvBxKR
— سم????ح (@samah_0000) March 30, 2026
It said that in the Palestinian town of Al-Ram in the central West Bank, troops fired at a man who accelerated his car toward them in a manner that constituted a threat and neutralized him.
And in Dura, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, the IDF said forces identified a man running at them with a knife. It said the troops opened fire and killed the would-be attacker.
PA security sources identified the dead man as Ramzi Awawada, 22, and accused the soldiers of leaving him to bleed to death and preventing rescuers from reaching him.
Palestinian health officials said the IDF had taken his body away.
The incidents came amid soaring settler violence in the West Bank, which was already high but has increased since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28.
Rights groups and Palestinian medics have accused Israeli settlers of taking advantage of curbs on movement imposed during the Iran war to attack Palestinians in the West Bank, with military roadblocks preventing ambulances from reaching victims quickly.
The Times of Israel Community.