An Israeli civilian was killed and three others wounded in a knife and car attack by two Palestinian teenagers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli authorities said.
The incident occurred at the Gush Etzion Junction, a crossroads near a cluster of Israeli settlements on the road south from Jerusalem to Hebron. The Israeli military reported responding to a “ramming and stabbing attack” and said soldiers “eliminated two terrorists at the scene.” Explosive materials were reportedly found in their vehicle.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency service, said one man died from a stab wound, while a woman and two men were taken to Jerusalem hospitals. The woman is in serious condition with a gunshot wound to her lower body. Israeli authorities said she may have been shot by security forces targeting the attackers.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the deceased as 71-year-old Aharon Cohen from the settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron.
The Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority named the attackers as Imran al-Atrash and Walid Sabbarna, both 18, from the Hebron area. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the attack as a response to Israeli actions in the West Bank.
Gush Etzion Junction has been the site of multiple attacks on Israelis since 2015. Yaron Rosental, head of the Gush Etzion regional council, vowed that the attackers and their community would “pay a very high price.” The Yesha Council, representing Israeli settlements, blamed the assault on the government’s refusal to annex Palestinian territory.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, triggering the Gaza war. Israeli troops or settlers have killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the war, including civilians and militants, while at least 44 Israelis have died in Palestinian attacks or military operations.
The attack follows clashes between Israeli forces and demonstrators during the dismantling of an illegal settler outpost in the Gush Etzion area on Monday. Homes and vehicles in the nearby Palestinian village of Jab’a were torched, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn violent settlers as a “handful of extremists.”
Local resident Mousa Ahmed Mousa said, “The situation is worrying. The settlers burned down what they destroyed and then left.”
The ongoing violence underscores the tense situation in the West Bank, where more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements alongside roughly three million Palestinians. All settlements in the occupied territory are considered illegal under international law.
