Palestinians claim IDF shot at deputy health minister’s car

Asaad al-Ramlaw unhurt in incident near West Bank village of al-Ram; army denies forces were in the area

Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.

Masked Palestinian youth throw teargas back at Israeli border policemen during clashes in the Palestinian village of al-Ram, between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank, on October 22, 2015.  (AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI)
Masked Palestinian youth throw teargas back at Israeli border policemen during clashes in the Palestinian village of al-Ram, between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank, on October 22, 2015. (AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI)

Palestinian media said that IDF forces shot at the car of Palestinian Authority Deputy Health Minister Asaad al-Ramlawi on Wednesday evening, damaging his vehicle’s front windshield.

The IDF denied the claims and said it had no forces operating in the area of the incident, near the West Bank village of al-Ram.

Ramlawi was not injured in the incident but the windshield of his car was smashed, the Ma’an news agency reported Thursday. The report cited an IDF statement saying that Ramlawi had been driving in an area where there were clashes between IDF forces and rock-throwing Palestinians, and that no shots were known to have been fired at his car.

A photograph of the car published by Ma’an showed the smashed windshield, which did not appear to have been penetrated.

An IDF spokesperson told The Times of Israel that “an initial investigation found that rocks were hurled at the vehicle.”

The spokesperson said the IDF did not have information on who had thrown the rocks.

Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad said the incident was part of an escalation in “savage” actions by Israel.

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