Jerusalem: Three Israelis have been wounded in a suspected car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli medics and military.
The attack occurred in the Beit Ummar village near the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday evening. According to Israeli emergency services, three Israelis were taken to hospitals in Jerusalem with serious, moderate and light wounds.
The assailant was “neutralised” on the spot, according to a statement from the Israeli military.
Israel security forces are on high alert ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover which will be celebrated in the middle of next week, overlapping the Muslim month of Ramzan. The Israeli military announced it will impose a closure on the West Bank ahead of Passover, forbidding the Palestinians to enter Israel during this period, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Saturday, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli police forces at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. The police said the man attempted to carry out an attack against the forces, which was rejected by some Palestinians at the scene.
The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been flaring since early January this year, with more than 90 Palestinians and 15 Israelis being killed, according to official Palestinian and Israeli statistics.
–IANS