Israeli forces cross a street during clashes with Palestinian protestors at Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on December 29, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
On March 16, a soldier and an officer of the Israeli Army were killed in a ramming attack in the city of Jenin in the northern part of the Palestinian West Bank, according to the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV. Two other Israeli soldiers were reportedly injured in the attack.
The Israeli Army confirmed that the incident had been a terrorist attack and had identified the attacker as Ala Qabha, 26, originally from Barta’a in the northern part of the West Bank. Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that Qabha had been released from an Israeli prison in April 2017 after completing a 17-month sentence for an undisclosed crime.
Qabha was injured during the attack and taken to the hospital where he will be questioned by the Israeli Army, according to the Times of Israel.
In response to the attack, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that he would pursue the death penalty for Qabha. Liberman also accused the Palestinian Authorities of paying “millions of dollars to terrorists who kill Israelis.”
“We will seek the death penalty for the terrorist, the destruction of his house and punishment for anyone who cooperated [with him],” Liberman said, according to the Times of Israel.
On the other side, the Palestinian Hama Movement praised the attack in Jenin and described it as “heroic and brave” in an official statement.
Commenting on the attack, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said: “The attack today is meant to emphasize that our people continue with the Jerusalem intifada … The revolution against Trump’s decision [to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel] is not a wave of fury. The borders of Jerusalem will be written in Palestinian blood.”
Several areas in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip witnessed several protests against Trump’s decision on March 16. Clashes between the protestors and the Israeli security forces were also reported.
So far, Trump’s decision has resulted in a wave of violence in the Israeli and Palestinian areas, which has been the higher since 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.
