Jerusalem — A Palestinian motorist slammed his car into a group of soldiers early on Thursday, injuring 12 before fleeing the scene, the Israeli military said. In the West Bank, a 19-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops, according to Palestinian hospital officials.
The uptick in violence came just days after President Trump unveiled his long-awaited Mideast peace plan, which was seen by Palestinians as greatly favoring Israel. They rejected it.
Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said one of the 12 injured in Jerusalem was seriously hurt. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the incident was being treated as a “terror attack.” He said Israeli forces were searching for the assailant.
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Hamas called the car-ramming a “practical response” to Mr. Trump’s peace plan, Agence France Presse reported. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said it was part of the “resistance operation” to the plan but didn’t claim Hamas was behind the incident.
Palestinian hospital officials said the 19-year-old was killed in clashes in the West Bank city of Jenin. Six others were wounded. That death came just hours after Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian during clashes with demonstrators elsewhere in the West Bank on Wednesday.
The plan has sparked calls by Israeli nationalists for Israel to annex parts of the West Bank and has inflamed tensions in the region.
“Attacks from Gaza, an attack in Jerusalem, signs of a rise in hostile activity in Jenin. Yesterday friction in Hebron. We are not trying to escalate the situation while understanding the complexity and sensitivity of the situation,” Conricus said, stopping short of directly linking the spate of violence to Mr. Trump’s plan.
In the Jerusalem incident, the troops were out on a “educational heritage tour,” walking near a popular entertainment district in Jerusalem when the motorist rammed his car into them and fled.
Such acts of violence were common in Jerusalem during a low-level wave of attacks last decade but had tapered off. It was the first such attack in years.
In the West Bank, Conricus said, troops were carrying out the demolition of a home belonging to a militant allegedly involved in a deadly attack in 2018. He said there was a “sizable riot” at the scene by Palestinians who threw Molotov cocktails at troops who also came under sniper fire. Conricus said forces responded to the violence with their own sniper fire and a Palestinian shooter was killed.
He couldn’t confirm whether the 19-year-old was the sniper. He said there had been an “uptick in intensity” in the means used against Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Also Thursday, Israel’s military said it struck Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip after three mortar shells were fired at Israel. There was no immediate report of injuries on either side.
