Palestinian Cop Shot Dead After Shooting 3 Israeli Soldiers

sraeli security forces gather around the body of a Palestinian man who was shot dead following a reported shooting attack on Israelis at a checkpoint near the Beit El settlement, close to West Bank city of Ramallah, on January 31, 2016. Israeli medics said two of the three wounded had serious injuries. Image by Gettyu

By JTA January 31, 2016

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian Authority police officer opened fire on Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, wounding three, before being shot dead by a soldier.

One soldier was in serious condition following the attack Sunday near Beit El, another was in moderate to serious condition and another was lightly injured, according to reports. The Israeli military confirmed all the injured men are soldiers.

The assailant, 34, was identified as a police officer from Nablus, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, he drove up to the checkpoint near Ramallah, left his car and opened fire on soldiers manning the area. He was shot dead during the attack.

Also Sunday, the driver of a car that attempted to ram soldiers on Highway 443, a main road to Jerusalem, was shot by soldiers and seriously injured.

No soldiers were injured in the attempted attack, which took place near the West Bank settlement of Beit Horon, where Shlomit Krigman, 23, was stabbed and killed by a Palestinian assailant in the community’s supermarket.

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