JERUSALEM (HPD) — A Palestinian opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in east Jerusalem on Saturday night, killing a female soldier and wounding three others, Israeli authorities said.
The attack comes hours after a pair of Palestinian teenagers were shot to death by Israeli soldiers during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
It was the latest violent incident in the deadliest series of fighting in the area in seven years. It was also recorded less than 24 hours before Israel began celebrating the Sukkot holiday, a week when tens of thousands of Jews visit the holy city.
The shooting on Saturday night occurred at a checkpoint near the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem. Police said the attacker got out of a car and opened fire, critically wounding the female soldier and a security guard before running off into the camp. The army announced early Sunday that the woman, who was 19, had died.
According to the police, two members of the paramilitary unit of the border police were slightly injured by shrapnel.
The police added that special forces and a helicopter are involved in the search for the attacker. Police reported early Sunday that they arrested a person suspected of involvement in the attack, but that the operation was continuing.
“Tonight our hearts go out to the wounded and their families,” said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. “Terrorism will not defeat us. We are also strong on this difficult night.”
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the area in a move not recognized internationally. The Israeli government considers the entire city, including East Jerusalem — home to the city’s most important holy sites — its capital. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Israel has already been carrying out daily arrests in the occupied West Bank since a series of Palestinian attacks last spring killed 19 Israelis. Most of the military activity has focused on the Palestinian cities of Jenin and Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli army shot dead two Palestinian teenagers during an arrest raid in the Jenin refugee camp, the site of ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and gunmen and local residents. The camp is known as a stronghold for Palestinian militants.
Palestinian authorities said Israeli soldiers entered the camp early Saturday and surrounded a house. In videos broadcast on social networks, exchanges of gunfire can be heard. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported two deaths and 11 injuries, three of them seriously.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the deceased as Mahmoud al-Sous, 18, and Ahmad Daraghmeh, 16.
The Israeli army said it had arrested a 25-year-old operative from the Islamic Jihad militant group who had previously been imprisoned by Israel. He added that the man had recently been involved in attacks against Israeli soldiers.