Car ramming attack leaves soldier wounded
Driver was killed later after a pursuit
A car ramming attack left a female Israeli solider seriously wounded and the Palestinian driver of the vehicle dead on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in the West Bank in Binyamin, north of Jerusalem, at an intersection where surveillance footage showed an SUV backtrack after spotting the soldier and then heading straight into her.
"Following the initial report, an assailant arrived at an area adjacent to a gas station in the community of Kochav Ya'akov in a vehicle and rammed an IDF soldier at the scene," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. "Israel Police forces in the area had begun a pursuit after the assailant and neutralized him."
"As a result of the ramming attack, the soldier was moderately injured and evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment. The soldier’s family has been notified," the statement continued.
A paramedic said that when they arrived at the scene, "the injured woman was laying on the street, close to a roundabout, while conscious and sustained bruises on her head and upper body."
The attacker – later killed by Israeli troops after a pursuit– was identified as Rani Mamoun Faiz Abu Ali, 45 – a father of five. Abu Ali apparently held a permit to work in Ariel, an Israeli-controlled city in the West Bank.
The attack comes amid heightened tensions and months into an Israeli offensive, Operation Break the Wave, which began in response to a string of fatal attacks this year targeting Israelis, leaving 19 dead. The Israeli military reported this week that it has thwarted some 500 terrorist attacks in the past year and arrested around 2,500 Palestinians during this operation.
The operation has mostly focused on terror threats in Jenin and Nablus, from where several attacks originated.
The daily military operations have exacerbated tensions between Israelis who live in the Judea and Samaria region and Palestinians in the West Bank.
Last week, bombs at two separate bus stops in Jerusalem left one teen dead and several wounded. Another victim died later of his wounds. The use of bombs – inside of Israel (not in the West Bank) – marked an escalation in violence.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
