Two injured, one seriously, in West Bank car ramming; terrorist shot
Driver, 17, hits 70-year-old man, then 35-year-old, before getting out of his vehicle and attempting to stab soldiers near Efrat
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
A Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into two people, seriously injuring one of them, before getting shot while trying to stab soldiers in the central West Bank on Friday morning, the army said.
The driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old who was not immediately named, rammed his car into the first victim, a 70-year-old man, who sustained a light head wound, at the Efrat South junction, medics said.
He continued down the road to the nearby Gush Etzion Junction where he hit another Israeli man, 35, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.
The second victim was initially said to have been lightly-to-moderately wounded, but the hospital later said his condition was serious, with a brain injury.
The army said the driver then got out of his car with a knife and tried to stab soldiers.
“The soldiers responded by firing towards the attacker, resulting in his injury,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
According to the hospital, the terrorist was in critical condition.
There were no reports of wounded Israeli soldiers, the army said.
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The 70-year-old victim was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, while the 35-year-old was taken to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, MDA said.
The seriously injured victim was to undergo surgery shortly, a Hadassah spokesperson said Friday morning.
“He suffered a head wound. He has an intracranial hemorrhage and will require brain surgery,” his doctor said. “He’s in serious condition, but he is stable.”
Army medics treated the wounded terrorist and also brought him to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem for further treatment.
Palestinian media reported he was from the nearby village of Halhoul.
The Gush Etzion Junction in the central West Bank has been a common site for terror attacks due to its close proximity to both Israeli settlements and Palestinian villages.
