TAPUACH, WEST BANK – AUGUST 14, 2011: (ISRAEL OUT) Israeli soldier sit in an outside coffee shop as the Israeli army rests after securing the area on August 14, 2011 at the Tapuach Junction north of the Palestinian town Nablus in the West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will formally submit the application for Palestinian statehood to the 66th United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 20th. The Palestinian bid arises from two decades of on-and-off peace talks that have failed to produce a deal. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) (JTA) — A car-ramming attack by a Palestinian driver lightly injured an Israeli soldier and a police officer in the West Bank on Wednesday morning.
The injured soldier shot the driver after he exited the car brandishing a knife and ran at the checkpoint, halting his progress, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The alleged assailant reportedly is in moderate condition.
The alleged terrorist attack took place at Tapuach Junction, near the city of Ariel, which has been the scene of many such attacks in recent years.
“We will not allow terror to raise its head and will fight the perpetrators and the people who send them,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement. “The IDF and security forces will maintain their readiness across all fronts.”
The driver was identified as a student from the Nablus area named Mohammed Jabr al-Bitawi, Haaretz reported.
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