Palestinian opens fire in Israeli settlement near Jerusalem, wounding 4 before being killed

A Palestinian gunman opened fire in an Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least four people before being shot and killed, Israeli police said.

The shooting took place outside a shopping mall in the large Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian assailant, dressed as a security guard, was shot and killed by an off-duty Israeli police officer who had heard gunshots and rushed to the scene.

The Israeli police said the attacker wounded four civilians, who were in light to moderate condition.

The shooting comes amid ongoing deadly Israeli raids against Palestinian towns and cities. 

The Israeli attacks have spiked this year, with more than 150 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of 2023 in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Settler attacks against Palestinian villages and towns in the occupied West Bank have also continued, with extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier this year calling for the village of Huwara to be wiped out. 

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has built hundreds of settlements there in violation of international law. Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.