Three Palestinian gunmen open fire at Israelis waiting in traffic a few hundred meters from az-Za’ayyem checkpoint, between Ma’ale Adumim and capital
Today, 10:41 am
An Israeli man was killed and 11 others were wounded in a terror shooting attack carried out by three Palestinian gunmen near a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement city of Ma’ale Adumim on Thursday morning, police and medics said.
According to police, the trio opened fire with automatic weapons at Israelis waiting in traffic while heading toward Jerusalem on the Route 1 highway, a few hundred meters before the az-Za’ayyem checkpoint, close to the West Bank town of the same name.
A man in his 20s was killed in the shooting, medical officials said. He was not immediately named.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it treated a total of 12 people, including the young man who was declared dead at the scene.
A woman aged 23 was listed in serious condition, and four others were in moderate condition, including a woman in her 30s, a man aged 23, a man aged 51, and a woman aged 52, MDA said.
Two of the gunmen were shot dead by security forces and armed civilians at the scene. The third gunman initially fled, before being “neutralized” a short while later, following police searches in the area, law enforcement officials said. His condition was not immediately known.
Images shared by police showed that the trio, residents of the Bethlehem area, were armed with assault rifles, makeshift submachine guns, and a grenade.
The Shin Bet security agency identified the terrorists as Muhammad Zawahra, 26, and his brother Kathem Zawahra, 31, both residents of the village of Ta’amra, and Ahmed Al-Wahsh, 31, a resident of Za’atara.
Kathem Zawahra had been previously jailed for entering Israel illegally, the Shin Bet said.
The terror attack came amid Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Tensions in Israel and the West Bank have been high since October 7, when some 3,000 terrorists burst through the Gaza border into Israel in a Hamas-led attack, killing at least 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seizing 253 hostages.
Israel responded with an aerial campaign and subsequent ground operation with the goal of destroying Hamas and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza and securing the release of the hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces has continued to operate throughout the West Bank and police have been on high alert in Israel, in light of concerns about a possible escalation of violence.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/one-killed-11-wounded-in-terror-shooting-attack-near-jerusalem-checkpoint/.