Israeli Border Police on Sunday fired on Palestinians who had stoned a public bus traveling on the Route 1 highway near the Judean Desert city of Ma’ale Adumim, wounding one suspect.
“A short while ago, several suspects threw stones at a bus on Route 1, a short distance after the az-Za’ayyem checkpoint in the direction of Ma’ale Adumim,” the Israel Police’s Spokesperson’s Unit stated.
Police officers “carried out a suspect-arrest procedure,” it continued. “One suspect was wounded by gunfire and a second was arrested.”
The condition of the wounded suspect was not immediately clear. He was evacuated to a Jerusalem hospital for medical treatment and was expected to be questioned later, according to the police statement.
In a separate operation in Judea overnight Saturday, police officers and Israel Defense Forces soldiers arrested four “young Palestinians” from al-Aroub, near Bethlehem, on suspicion of throwing fire bombs at security forces operating in the area, police stated.
“The suspects were transferred for questioning and investigation at the [Gush] Etzion police station, and the investigation is ongoing,” police stated, adding: “We will continue to operate in cooperation with all security bodies to safeguard the public’s well-being, security, and property, and against those who pose a real danger to the forces.”
Meanwhile, an Israeli police officer on Sunday morning fired on a driver who had “accelerated toward him” during a traffic stop on Route 60, between the communities of Shiloh and Ofra in southern Samaria.
Traffic police were dispatched following a report about a vehicle “that was speeding excessively and endangering road users,” police said. The car bore Palestinian license plates, a spokesman confirmed to JNS.
When one of the officers stopped the vehicle and approached the driver, “it accelerated toward him,” the statement continued. “The officer, who feared for his life, fired at the vehicle.” The suspect then attempted to escape, but drove into a concrete barrier while reversing his vehicle.
Medical teams were called to the scene to evacuate the suspect, and a bomb disposal unit to inspect the vehicle, police said.
According to the Kan News broadcaster, an initial investigation showed the driver was affiliated with the Hamas terror group and had reached for the passenger seat, leaving the police officer feeling threatened.
