'Attempted car-ramming' in West Bank injures Israeli soldier

One solider has sustained minor injuries after a Palestinian car drove into a group of Israeli soldiers at the Qasr al-Yahud pilgrimage site in the Jordan Valley

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

19 January, 2018

IDF soldiers maintain tight control on the West Bank pilgrimage site [Getty]

An attempted car-ramming attack near a popular tourist destination in the West Bank on Friday has left one soldier with minor injuries, it was reported by Haaretz.

According to IDF reports, a Palestinian in a car approached Qasr al-Yahud, a popular destination for Christian pilgrims in the Jordan valley near Jericho. When the car was denied entry to the site, it drove into the group of Israeli soldiers on guard, injuring one.

The driver was arrested on site and is currently under investigation, according to the reports.

Tensions have been high in the West Bank following the killing of Israeli Rabbi Raziel Shevah in a settlement outpost near Nablus on January 9, which sparked a manhunt for the killer with Israeli forces setting up roadblocks and checkpoints in the Nablus region.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Israeli forces shot and killed 31-year-old Ahmed Ismail Jarrar, the murder suspect, in the Jenin refugee camp.

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There are frequent tensions between Israeli settlers in the Nablus area and Palestinians. Some 600,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem alongside nearly three million Palestinians.

US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6 triggered unrest in the Palestinian territories, although it was unclear if the rabbi's murder was related.

Eighteen Palestinians have been killed since Trump's declaration, most of them in clashes with Israeli forces. Shevah is the only Israeli killed during that time period.

Agencies contributed to this report