Palestinian killed by Israeli forces after alleged car attack

A young Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank last night after he allegedly attempted to run them over with his vehicle.

The Israel Defense Forces reported a “car-ramming attempt” next to the Israeli settlement of Mevo Dotan, west of the Palestinian city Jenin. No soldiers were injured and the driver was “neutralized,” the IDF said in a tweet.

The Palestinian Authority identified the deceased individual as 22-year-old Hikmat Abdul Aziz Mousa from the nearby village of Marka. Mousa died after his car caught fire following the shooting. An Israeli military jeep also caught fire in the incident, the PA’s news outlet WAFA reported.

There have been several episodes of violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem recently. An Israeli settler was shot dead on Dec. 17 in the northern West Bank. Israeli security forces arrested some members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in relation to the incident.

Last month, a Palestinian man shot and killed an Israeli in the Old City of Jerusalem, leading to arrests of Hamas members.