One man was killed and three other people were injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Israeli military and ambulance service said, in what Israeli authorities described as a terrorist attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement two attackers were also killed by soldiers, but did not provide further details. It said explosive materials were found in the vehicle used by the attackers, which were being neutralized by bomb disposal specialists.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The attack took place between Bethlehem and Hebron at a traffic junction at the entrance to a cluster of Israeli settlements known as the Etzion bloc.
A spokesperson for the Israeli ambulance service said a 71-year-old man died of stab wounds. Earlier he had been described as a 30-year-old. A woman, a boy and another man were wounded.
ATTACKS BY JEWISH SETTLERS
The attack was the latest incident in the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced tightened military restrictions and a surge in violent attacks by Jewish settlers since the start of the Gaza war two years ago. In Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has held since October 10.
Israel has been under mounting international pressure to curb the attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene an urgent meeting of ministers and security officials on Thursday to discuss steps to bring Israelis who attack Palestinians to justice, senior officials said.
On Monday, Israelis torched homes and vehicles in Jab’a, a Palestinian village near Bethlehem, after an earlier attack on property and civilians in the village of Sa’ir, the WAFA news agency said, quoting officials.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday the government will take unprecedented steps in coming weeks allocating resources and funding to curbing Israeli violence — a move he expected would have a significant impact.
“The Jewish rioters in Judea and Samaria harm the State of Israel, disgrace Judaism, and cause damage to the settlement project,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar posted on X on Monday, using the biblical names for the West Bank.
“The army, the Shin Bet, and the Israel Police must act decisively and firmly to stop this rampage, which is also directed at our soldiers and police officers.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said this month that settlers staged at least 264 attacks on Palestinians in October — the highest monthly tally since the UN began tracking such incidents in 2006.
Home to 2.7 million Palestinians, the West Bank has long been at the heart of plans for a future Palestinian state existing alongside Israel. Successive Israeli governments have encouraged Israeli settlements to expand rapidly in the West Bank, fragmenting the land.