Gunman opens fire on soldiers, Border Police — first at Qalandiya checkpoint, then at patrol sent to investigate
An IDF force identified bullet marks in a guard post at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah Saturday after soldiers said they heard gunfire directed at them.
After hearing the shots, a Border Police patrol was dispatched to reconnoiter the surrounding area — and was also fired upon, officials said.
No one was hurt in the two incidents, but the patrol jeep sustained damaged from the gunfire.
Earlier Saturday, an IDF ambush opened fire on a Palestinian throwing a firebomb at an army post near the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah. There were no reports of injuries in the incident.
In another incident Saturday, Border Police officers found a loaded Kalashnikov rifle in the trunk of a stolen Israeli car outside the Neve Tzuf settlement north of Jerusalem.
The car’s driver, an Israeli Arab in his 30s, was arrested, police said.
Qalandiya, which links Jerusalem and Ramallah, has been a flashpoint for violence in the last few weeks.
The site was targeted by gunfire, presumably from Palestinian gunmen, several times in late November.
On Friday, security forces stationed there prevented a car-ramming attack. A Palestinian driver, 30, attempted to ram police officers and soldiers manning the vehicle lanes, but was fired upon by one of the guards.
“A Palestinian terrorist… drove at speed toward police and soldiers in an attempt to ram them,” a police statement said.
Attempting to avoid the gunfire, the attacker swerved into a concrete block. He then stepped out of the car and attempted to rush the guards, who shot him in the leg.
The attacker, who was identified only as a resident of the village of Turmusaya in the northern West Bank, was treated by medics on site and placed under arrest.
As reported by The Times of Israel