Israeli forces kill Palestinian suspected of deadly car ramming incident in occupied east Jerusalem

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man suspected of carrying out a car ramming attack on Friday in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem, authorities said.

Two Israelis, including a child, are said to have been killed in the incident, while five others were reportedly injured, according to Israeli police.

"The suspect was neutralised on the spot" in Ramot, an illegal settlement in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the Israeli police said, describing it as a "terror" attack.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw a blue car that had crashed into a bus stop. A pink children's doll was among debris nearby. Meanwhile, the Palestinian man's identity is yet to be confirmed, according to The New Arab's Arabic-language site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, while no official Palestinian body has confirmed the man's death.

تغطية صحفية: "لحظة إطلاق النار تجاه سائق مركبة نفذ عمــليــة الدهس بالقدس، فقتل مستوطناً وأصاب آخرين". pic.twitter.com/nmhHJ9ptVX

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 10, 2023

However, Israeli media has claimed that the man is in his thirties, and from the neighbourhood of Issawiya in east Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek hospital said those who died were eight and 20 years old.

The incident follows a surge in violence this week, where Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian on Thursday near the West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said.

On Tuesday, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

A day earlier, Israeli forces killed five Palestinian men in a raid in Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, whom the Israeli army claimed were involved a shooting in a restaurant near the city.

Deadly year 

Violence in both the occupied West Bank and Israel has witnessed a sharp uptick, as least 43 Palestinians have been killed in violent Israeli raids in Jenin and other West Bank cities so far this year.

Last month, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in a raid in Jenin, including 61-year-old Majeda Obeid. A 10th Palestinian was killed in a separate incident in Al-Ram village.

Meanwhile, six Israeli settlers and a Ukrainian were killed in an attack in the illegal settlement of Neve Yaacov. Eight Israelis have been killed altogether, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.

Last year was the deadliest year in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking fatalities in the territory in 2005.

More than 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and Gaza this year.