West Bank Shooting: 3 Israeli Police Officers Killed

Israeli police confirmed that three of their officers were killed in a shooting attack on Sunday in the occupied West Bank. The attack took place near the Tarqumiya checkpoint close to Hebron, according to Ouzi Levy, the chief of Israeli police in the West Bank.

The victims, two men and a woman, were initially reported dead by Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service. They described arriving at the scene to find a vehicle riddled with bullet holes on a mound by the roadside.

Following the incident, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited the site and called for increased checkpoints in the area, stating, “The right to life of Israelis is more important than the freedom of movement of PA residents.” He also made a controversial statement urging that terrorists be “shot in the head” rather than released.

The attack occurred amid a broader Israeli military operation in the West Bank that has been ongoing since Wednesday, focusing particularly on the city of Jenin. The operation has led to the deaths of at least 22 Palestinians, including 14 militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, violence in the West Bank has escalated significantly. The United Nations reports that around 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers since then, while at least 23 Israelis have died in the territory during Palestinian attacks or security operations.