West Bank assailants hit soldier with car, try to shoot others; chase underway

IDF says soldier didn’t require medical care following attack near town of Yabad; one of the attackers drops gun while trying to shoot at troops, who launch searches for suspects

By ToI Staff 9 January 2021, 4:03 pmUpdated at 5:34 pm 0 Edit

A photo released by the Israel Defense Forces shows soldiers in the West Bank following an attempted ramming and stabbing attack near the Palestinian town of Yabad on January 9, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday a manhunt was underway after assailants attempted to shoot soldiers after ramming into one of them at a military checkpoint in the West Bank.

The IDF said the soldier struck by the car did not require medical care. The attack took place near the town of Yabad in the northern West Bank.

Two people were in the vehicle, which accelerated toward troops after they finished inspecting another car at the checkpoint, according to the military.

One of the suspects tried to fire on troops but he dropped his Carlo-style submachine gun, the IDF said.

Troops confiscated the gun and set up roadblocks as searches were conducted throughout the region.

A gun dropped by a gunman after an attempted ramming and shooting in the northern West Bank, January 9, 2021 (Courtesy)

The incident was the latest attempted attack since Esther Horgen’s murder in a terror attack last month sparked weeks of ongoing tension in the West Bank. The Israeli security services reported 13 incidents of stone-throwing by settlers against Palestinians in the days immediately following Horgen’s murder. A 16-year-old settler, Ahuvia Sandak, was killed in a car crash during a police chase after allegedly hurling rocks.

Sandak’s death ignited days of near-nightly protests in Jerusalem and the West Bank, many of which turned violent.

Additionally, an unarmed Palestinian man, Haroun Abu Aram, was left paralyzed from the neck down last Friday after being shot at close range by Israeli forces during an operation to confiscate illegal Palestinian construction equipment in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills.

On Sunday, an Israeli woman was seriously injured by rocks thrown at her car as she drove in the West Bank. The IDF later announced the arrests of several suspects.

And on Tuesday, a Palestinian man tried to carry out a stabbing attack in the West Bank. He was shot dead after throwing a meat cleaver at a settlement security official, according to the military.