Palestinian Police Official Shoots and Wounds Three IDF Soldiers Near Jewish Community of Beit El
Beit El (TPS) – Three IDF soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack late Sunday morning near the Jewish community of Beit El, north of Jerusalem.
The shooter arrived in a Palestinian vehicle and opened fire in the direction of a nearby military checkpoint. Three victims were treated at the scene by Magen David Adom (MDA) and IDF paramedics.
One of the soldiers sustained serious injuries to his upper body and was taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. A second victim sustained moderate injuries and was transported to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem where he is conscious and in stable condition. A third victim sustained light injuries.
The terrorist, identified as Palestinian staff sergeant Amjad Sukkari from the village of Jama’in south of Nablus, was shot and killed at the scene. A security official told Tazpit Press Service (TPS) that 34-year-old Sukkari was a prosecutor in the Palestinian Attorney General’s Office.
The security official also told TPS that Sukkari did not have a gun permit and that he acquired the gun specifically for the purpose of carrying out the attack.
Sukkari posted a photo of himself in a car on Facebook shortly before committing the attack and wished his friends and followers a “morning of victory.” Sukkari also posted a status in Arabic stating that he “saw nothing to live for as long as the occupation continues killing our brothers and sisters. God have mercy on our martyrs, heal our wounded, and release our prisoners.”
Sukkari’s posts were shared by hundreds of people on Palestinian social media within a short period of time.
The shooting was perpetrated at the entrance to the Palestinian city of Ramallah at a checkpoint recently opened by Israel to allow free passage without inspection to all Palestinian vehicles.
The Beit El Local Council released a statement in response to the attack: “The fact that today’s terrorist is a member of the Palestinian security forces is very severe. A few months ago a terrorist took advantage of the opening of the Beitin road and shot at an ambulance leaving the community, and by a miracle nobody was hurt.”
“We call the IDF to close the road and prevent passage by Palestinians at the checkpoint,” the statement read. “This is the only exit from Beit El, and our residents’ lives come before the Palestinians’ quality of life. We call on the government to combat the incitement on Palestinian media, in order to decrease the motivation to commit attacks.”
Jonathan Benedek contributed to this article.