Palestinian Rams Car Into Civilians Near Jerusalem, Injures One Person

The Israel Defense Forces killed the attacker.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Palestinian attacker rammed his vehicle on Wednesday into a group of civilians in the vicinity of Jerusalem and injured one person, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Moments ago, Palestinian terrorist rammed his vehicle into civilians at the Gush Etzion Junction, south of Jerusalem, injuring a civilian. pic.twitter.com/LIYNmfv9Fz

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) 19 апреля 2017 г.

​According to reports, IDF servicemen killed the assailant, while the injured Israeli civilian was evacuated for medical treatment.

Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements in the West Bank located south of Jerusalem.

The latest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen a large number of car ramming incidents against Israelis. On April 6, another Palestinian rammed his car into a group of Israelis at a bus stop near the Ofra settlement in the West Bank, killing one Israeli and injuring another.

Relations between Israel and Palestine have been shattered for decades. Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and builds settlements on the occupied areas, despite objections from the United Nations.