10-Jul-17: Outside Tekoah, an Arab-on-Israel vehicle ramming attack followed by a thwarted knifing

Scene of today's vehicle ramming attack [Image Source]

On a fiercely hot July Monday, an IDF soldier of about 20 was today attacked and moderately injured in what the military are calling a suspected car ramming attack outside the West Bank community of Tekoa.

The attack happened at a junction on the road between Tekoa and Ma'ale Amos, a short distance south of the capital. The driver of the vehicle was shot dead by security forces according to a Times of Israel report.

The injured serviceman was treated at the scene by both civilian first responders and military medics. Magen David Adom, the Israeli ambulance service, says the soldier was not struck by the vehicle but instead hurt by a falling street light that hit him it was impact by the attack vehicle. The soldier has injuries to his arms and legs and was broughr to Jerusalem’s Shaarei Zedek Medical Center for emergency treatment. His condition, initially given as moderate, was lowered to mild at the hospital.

The attacker's knife  [Image Source]

The attacker has not yet been identified. It's reported that immediately after carrying out the ramming, he exited the vehicle and tried to stab a second IDF soldier before being shot. Army medics treated him at the scene but he was soon pronounced dead.

Here's how the Fatah-aligned Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency reports the attack:

An eyewitness told Ma'an that he saw the Palestinian, who was wearing a red shirt, lying motionless on the ground, and claimed that he saw two wounded Israeli soldiers -- one suffering from a serious injury and unable to move, and another with a minor injury. However, the Israeli army spokesperson said just one soldier had been wounded. According to Ma’an documentation, the man, who remained unidentified, became the 37th Palestinian to be killed by an Israeli in 2017. Eight Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during the same time frame.

The Arabic-language report of the same Ma'an organization says the Arab-on-Israeli "alleged" attacker, whom it calls "martyr", is a 25 year old Arab called Mohammed Ibrahim Jibril.