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The scene of the attack at Halhul Junction, November 4, 2015. Credit: MDA
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by Gili Cohen and Chaim Levinson for Haaretz

An Israeli border policeman, 20, was critically wounded on Wednesday in a car-ramming attack at the Halhul Junction in the West Bank.

The assailant, a Palestinian resident of Hebron, was shot and killed. He was identified as Ibrahim Saqafi, 23.

According to initial reports, the Palestinian motorist swerved suddenly toward a group of Israelis standing at the junction. The victim suffered multisystem trauma and was rushed to a Jerusalem hospital.    

On Tuesday, the Gilboa crossing point close to Jenin, in the West Bank, was closed off until further notice after a man armed with a pipe bomb and a knife was arrested in the vicinity.

Several violent incidents have occurred in the vicinity of the crossing point in the days before. On Monday, Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed one Palestinian and detained another for planning to stab a soldier from the Bedouin tracker unit, according to the army.
That followed an attempt by two Palestinians to stab members of the security forces on Saturday. Both were shot and killed by guards from the ministry's crossings authority.
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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian Wednesday after he carried out a suspected vehicular attack that left two Israelis injured near the Halhul junction north of Hebron, emergency services and witnesses said.

A witness told Ma'an that he “saw two Israeli soldiers on the ground bleeding after they were apparently run over by a Palestinian vehicle,” adding that “one bullet was fired at the Palestinian vehicle by a soldier.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed to Ma'an that the Palestinian in the vehicle was shot dead and identified him as Ibrahim Skafi, 22.

Israeli media the young man was from the Tulkarum area.
A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was reportedly prevented from approaching the site, witnesses said.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that those injured in the hit-and-run were Israeli border police, but had no further information on the incident.

Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom said that a 20-year-old Israeli was severely injured and another left with moderate injuries.

Clashes erupted in the area between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces following the incident and a local resident of Halhul, Mohammed Rabah, told Ma’an that all entrances of Halhul had been closed.

Israeli forces also closed the nearby Nabi Younis street following the incident and prevented traffic from crossing through to Bethlehem.
Seventy-two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of last month, many of whom were shot dead during attempted, alleged, and actual attacks on Israeli military and civilians.

At least nine Israelis have been killed in attacks by individual Palestinians during the same time period.

Israeli forces shot and killed Ahmed Awad Abu al-Rub, 16, near the al-Jalama checkpoint north of Jenin on Monday after allegedly attempting to attack Israeli soldiers with a knife.

Two separate stabbing attacks were carried out by Palestinians later in the day, leaving four Israelis injured, according to the Israeli army.