Reuters
Metropolis Desk-
Israeli police and medical officials said that a Palestinian truck driver rammed a checkpoint between Israel and the occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli soldier and injuring two others.
The driver fled the scene of the Thursday ramming at the Maccabim crossing, which Palestinians refer to as Beit Sira, only to be halted at another checkpoint some six kilometers (four miles) away where he was shot and killed, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The driver was “neutralized,” the Israeli army claimed in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant expressed sympathy to the soldier’s family in a separate statement and hailed the security services “for their determined action” in taking out the attacker.
The motorist was identified as a 41-year-old Palestinian with a work permit in Israel by an Israeli police officer. As gunfire broke out at the second checkpoint, a white truck was seen in a video making the rounds on social media flanked by security personnel.
The checkpoint where the truck struck the troops is close to the Israeli city of Modiin and is on a key road that runs from central Israel through the occupied West Bank and into Jerusalem. The checkpoint is frequently crowded with commuters, troops, and security personnel.
The event occurred a day after a 15-year-old Palestinian adolescent who had stabbed and injured an Israeli settler in a light-rail station in occupied East Jerusalem was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer.
Four Israeli soldiers were injured by an explosive device overnight on Thursday while patrolling and leading Jewish settlers to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, an area of conflict where Palestinians frequently demonstrate.
Since the beginning of last year, Israel has increased its nearly nightly incursions in the occupied West Bank, while Israeli settlers have upped their attacks on Palestinian cities and villages.
Since the beginning of 2023, more than 200 Palestinians have died, making this the worst year for Palestinians since the UN started keeping track of deaths in 2006.
In the same time frame, Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of at least 30 Israelis.
Source- Al Jazeera
