BETHLEHEM, November 17, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Friday shot and injured a Palestinian at the Gush Etzion junction south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank following an alleged car-ramming and stabbing attack.

The Palestinian teenager allegedly perpetrated a car-ramming attack, injuring two Israeli settlers before he was shot and seriously injured by Israeli forces at the junction.

An Israeli military spokesperson reportedly said that the alleged assailant first drove his car towards Efrat Junction and ran over an Israeli settler and then continued to Gush Etzion Junction, where he ran over a second settler.

He proceeded by exiting the vehicle, armed with a knife, and attempted to stab soldiers who were guarding the junction. “The soldiers responded by firing towards the assailant, who as a result was severely injured,” the statement read.

Israeli medics claimed a 35-year-old Israeli settler was seriously injured and another in his seventies was lightly-to-moderately wounded.

The Palestinian was identified as Ezzedin Karaja, 17, from Hebron-district town of Halhul in the southern West Bank.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear and largely based on the Israeli version of events.

Though Israeli military has claimed that Palestinians were allegedly attempting to carry out attacks, in a majority of instances when Palestinians were killed human rights groups have disputed Israel’s version of events, arguing that many alleged attackers could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner.

K.F.