Earlier in the day, the Israeli military reported a "ramming incident" not far from the Jewish settlement of Reihan, west of the Palestinian city of Jenin.
According to the local ambulance service, at least two people were critically injured in the attack, while another two sustained moderate or serious injuries.
Initial report: car ramming incident adjacent to the community of Reihan, west of Jenin. There are a number of casualties at the scene. More details to follow
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) March 16, 2018
The Hatzalah Yosh media outlet reports that two of those wounded as a result of the attack have been taken to Beilinson hospital by helicopter.
#breaking: 2 Israelis murdered, 3 injured in a Palestinian ramming attack at the West Bank pic.twitter.com/zCIdcPId6D
— Yosef Yisrael (@yosefyisrael25) March 16, 2018
The driver who had escaped from the scene was captured by Israeli security forces shortly after the attack, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.
The assault happened amid Friday's riots by hundreds of Palestinians to mark 100 days (so-called "100 days of rage") since US President Donald Trump announced the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
This is the third car-ramming to take place in Israel this month: two similar accidents occurred in the northern Israeli city of Acre, resulting in two soldiers and one police officer being injured. According to the police, previous attacks were politically-motivated.
Israel seized Jordan-controlled East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1980, the Israeli parliament adopted the Jerusalem Law proclaiming the entire city Israel’s undivided capital. The international community does not recognize the annexation and believes the status of Jerusalem should be agreed with the Palestinians, who claim its eastern part as the capital of their future state.
