3 Israeli officers injured in car bomb attempt in West Bank

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army announced that three officers, including a brigade commander, were injured in a car bomb attempt at Gush Etzion Junction in the southern occupied West Bank, coinciding with an attack in the nearby Karmei Tzur illegal settlement.

In a statement on Saturday, the army said: “In the past few hours, several security forces have continued to search the Karmei Tzur settlement to rule out the presence of additional suspects."

The statement added that “an investigation into the car bomb incident at the gas station at Gush Etzion Junction reveals that it was an attempted attack using a car bomb.”

The army claimed that its forces “eliminated the attacker."

The statement also noted that the Gush Etzion Brigade commander sustained minor injuries, while two other officers were moderately injured during an exchange of gunfire with the attacker, who exited the vehicle after it caught fire.

According to the Israeli army, a Palestinian entered the Karmei Tzur illegal settlement, prompting a security patrol to chase him. The patrol vehicle collided with the Palestinian’s car, and Israeli forces' gunfire killed him.

“During the exchange of fire, a bomb in the assailant's car exploded,” said the army.

On Friday evening, Israeli media initially reported that four illegal settlers were injured in two attacks before the Israeli army later confirmed the injury of three officers.

Separately, the Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Saturday that “the operations that took place north of Hebron are a clear message that resistance will remain strong, widespread, and ongoing as long as the brutal occupation's aggression and targeting of our people and land continues.”

It noted in a statement that "the operations represent a new blow to the occupation's security apparatus amid a state of alert within the Zionist entity.”

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 674 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara