BICOM

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded in the West Bank yesterday after a Palestinian man, reported to be a member of the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces opened fire.

The attack took place at a checkpoint near the entrance to the settlement of Beit El, close to Ramallah. The attacker was subsequently killed at the scene. All soldiers were taken to a hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.

An IDF statement said: “[A] Palestinian gunman arrived at a [military] crossing at the entrance to Ramallah and opened fire at forces at the scene, injuring three soldiers. In response to the immediate threat, forces shot the assailant.”

The IDF later released pictures of the AK-47 rifle which was used to carry out the attack.

The attacker was named by Israel’s Shin Bet security service as 25-year-old Muhammed Turkman from the village of Kabatiya, south of Jenin. Some reports say that Turkman was a security guard at a PA government office, others say that he was a member of a PA police special forces unit. Reuters describes him as “a member of the Palestinian police”. There have been several instances of PA security officers launching attacks during the last year.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the attack ‘heroic’ and said that it sends “a strong message in the face of Israeli crimes”. He also urged “more involvement from Palestinian security officers in the Palestinian intifada”.

Yesterday’s attack occured  a day after three Israeli Border Police officers were wounded after a Palestinian rammed his vehicle into them outside the town of Beit Ummar near Hebron in the Gush Etzion region. It was one of several attacks on Israelis in the West Bank over the weekend.

Since October 2015, a wave of Palestinian attacks has killed 42 people. The perpetrators have largely been individual Palestinians, uncoordinated with known terror groups.