An Israel Defense Forces officer was critically wounded in a ramming attack near Jerusalem overnight Sunday, which also left a Border Police officer lightly wounded. A Molotov cocktail was also thrown at the troops.
Two of the Palestinian attackers were killed by nearby soldiers, and a third was wounded.
The soldiers that were targeted in the attack had stopped their vehicle by the side of the road at night because it had broken down. They had been deployed to the area as part of an operation aimed at seizing wanted Palestinian terrorists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to demolish the homes of the attackers.
"We will do everything to speed up the demolition of these murderers' homes, just like the murderer of Ori Ansbacher," Netanyahu said, referring to the 19-year-old girl from Tekoa who was raped and stabbed to death in the woods outside of Jerusalem on Feb. 7.
"I issued a directive to speed up the demolition of these homes within the parameters of the legal system," the prime minister said. "We are determined to continue our struggle against murderers and against such terror."
He added that the IDF soldiers "acted swiftly and killed the terrorists who threatened to run them over. We send blessings for a speedy recovery to those injured."
Hamas praised the attack several hours later.
"The martyrs' actions west of Ramallah is a message of the young revolutionaries in the West Bank against the occupation, aimed at liberating the holy sites and preventing the Judaization of Jerusalem," the terrorist group said.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the two men were shot in cold blood in "a brutal execution."
