Palestinian rams car at checkpoint, wounds soldier day after Israel’s national election

A Palestinian driver rammed his car into an Israeli officer at a checkpoint near the Israeli city of Modi'in on Wednesday morning, before exiting the vehicle with an axe in hand in order to strike his victim. 

The 20-year-old officer – who was seriously injured – shot and killed the terrorist before being transported to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

“The wounded man was fully conscious with leg injuries,” the Magen David Adom ambulance service stated. “We gave him treatment that included stopping the bleeding, splinting and giving pain relievers, and quickly took him to the hospital.”

The terror attack followed Israel’s national elections by one day. On Tuesday, crossing closures restricted movement between the disputed territories and Israel’s population centers.

In recent months, violence has increased significantly in Judea and Samaria, especially in the northern Arab cities of Nablus and Jenin. Palestinian terrorists have attacked military posts, Israeli troops operating in the area, Israeli communities and Israelis civilians traveling on the roads. 

IDF operations at the end of October killed half-a-dozen senior members of the Nablus-based terrorist group Lion’s Den, as part of an ongoing response to terror that took 19 Israeli lives earlier this year.

On Saturday night, Hamas member Muhammed Kamel al-Jabari shot and killed Israeli father Ronen Hanania and wounded four others near the Kiryat Arba community on the outskirts of Hebron. In the attack, Al-Jabari shot at Hanania and his son, who were shopping at a Palestinian-owned store between Kiryat Arba and Hebron.

An off-duty soldier opened fire on the terrorist and killed him; however, Arab residents of Hebron reportedly celebrated the attack by handing out sweets to drivers and shooting off fireworks.

Al-Jabari is the brother of Palestinian terrorist, Waal, who was serving life in prison in Israel before being deported to Gaza in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal in 2011. 

On Sunday, a Palestinian driver rammed his vehicle into Israeli soldiers at two different locations south of Jericho in Judea, first at Nabi Musa (believed to contain the tomb of Moses) and, then, at a bus stop at the Almog Junction. 

The driver injured five soldiers before being shot dead. The soldiers, all in their twenties, were transported to hospitals in Jerusalem.

This year, the Israeli Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, has prevented more than 300 significant terrorist attacks, stabbings, shootings and suicide attacks. Shin Bet agents have also arrested more than 2,000 terrorists and terrorist suspects, according to Shin Bet director Ronen Bar.