Israeli kills Palestinian who stabbed settler with a screwdriver on West Bank bus

A Palestinian man was shot dead on a bus carrying Israeli settlers south of Bethlehem on Thursday after he stabbed a passenger, according to Israeli media reports.

The Palestinian attacker, named by the Palestinian health ministry as Nidal Jaafreh, boarded the bus near the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem, according to the media reports. After one stop, the 30-year-old stabbed an Israeli settler on the bus with a screwdriver, before an armed Israeli passenger shot him dead.

The wounded settler was taken to hospital.

تغطية صحفية: "مشاهد لحافلة المستوطنين التي نفَّــذ فيها الشهـــيد نــضال جــعافرة عمــلية طعــن أسفرت عن إصابة خطيرة لمستوطن جنوب بيت لحم". pic.twitter.com/A3vAFJgQQu

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 31, 2022

Following the attack, Israeli forces raided Jaafreh’s home village of Tarqumia, near Bethlehem, where they fired tear gas and clashed with Palestinian residents.

Israeli soldiers raided the home of Jaafreh’s family, and dozens of Palestinians were treated for breathing difficulties related to tear gas inhalation, Palestinian media reported.

مواجهات عنيفة مع الاحتلال عقب اقتحامه بلدة ترقوميا غرب الخليل، ومداهمة منزل عائلة نضال جعافرة منفذ عملية الطعن جنوب بيت لحم. pic.twitter.com/z3OkiNuBuX

— Yazan 🇵🇸💚 (@Yazan_Palestine) March 31, 2022

The attack came amidst rising tensions in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army killed two Palestinians and wounded 14 more in a military raid on the refugee camp of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army announced that it will send four additional brigades into the West Bank. The move followed a gun attack by a Palestinian in a Tel Aviv suburb earlier this week that killed five Israelis.

The Israeli military also launched an arrest campaign in the West Bank, arresting around 30 Palestinians on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

المتحدث باسم جيش العدو ينشر مقطع فيديو لاقتحام منزل نضال جعافرة في ترقوميا قرب الخليل وهو الذي نفذ عملية الطعن في غوش عتصيون، واستجوبت عائلته، pic.twitter.com/79jag3WPBR

— غزة برس-Gaza Press (@Gazapres) March 31, 2022

Palestinian factions’ armed wings announced in separate statements their “full readiness” in case of any coming escalation with Israel.

Earlier in the week, King Abdullah of Jordan visited Ramallah and held talks with the Palestinian president in an effort to ease tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.