BICOM

Three IDF soldiers were wounded overnight during an operation in the West Bank town of Kalandia, after two attempted vehicle attacks.

Israeli soldiers had reportedly entered Kalandia in order to apprehend terror suspects and seize weapons, but immediately found themselves under a barrage of rocks and firebombs. In two separate sections of the town, Palestinians attempted to injure the soldiers by ramming cars into them. Both assailants were shot dead by the troops and later named as 21-year-old Ahmed Hassan Jehajehh from Kalandia and Hihmat Hamdan from nearby al-Bireh. However, three Israeli troops were wounded in one of the incidents, two moderately and one lightly. Military officials believe the injuries may have been a result of ‘friendly fire’ as soldiers attempted to neutralise the attacker.

Vehicle attacks have been a prominent feature of the current wave of violence, which has killed at least 21 Israelis since the start of October. Most recently, on Monday afternoon in Jerusalem, a Palestinian man ploughed his car into a group of commuters waiting at a bus stop, injuring 14 people including a 15-month-old baby. Yesterday, Hamas claimed that the attacker, 21-year-old Abed el-Muhsen Hassuna was one of its members. He was shot and killed at the scene as an armed civilian, security guard and soldier opened fire.

Also yesterday, a Palestinian construction worker in the central Israeli city of Modi’in attacked and injured two people with a hammer. The 39-year-old male Palestinian, from nearby Beit Sira in the West Bank had a valid permit. He first attacked the foreman at the site where he worked and then a worker at an adjacent construction project before being overpowered and restrained by other workers until police arrived on the scene. One of the victims was moderately to seriously wounded in the attack. Police believe that the incident was terror-related.