The Israeli military said Friday that soldiers stationed at a Samaria checkpoint shot and killed a Palestinian after he attempted to run them over with his vehicle. No Israeli troops were wounded in the attack, which took place near the settlement of Halamish, north of Ramallah.
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Tensions have soared in recent weeks as Israel has vowed to proceed with plans to annex large parts of Judea and Samaria. The move is in line with US President Donald Trump's Middle East plan. The Palestinians, who strongly oppose the plan, said they would fight it and Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip, has threatened a new intifada, or papular uprising.
Israel has weathered two intifadas, in 1987 and 2000. Both saw Palestinian terrorists carry hundreds of attacks that left thousands of Israelis wounded and dead.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last week that the Palestinians were no longer bound by agreements with Israel and the United States and were cutting all contacts, including security coordination.
Palestinians have carried out a series of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years. The vast majority have been carried out by lone attackers with no known links to armed groups.
Rights groups have accused Israeli security forces of using excessive force in some cases, by killing Palestinians who could have been arrested or using lethal force when their lives were not in danger.
