Three Israelis were shot and killed at the West Bank-Jordan border.

BBC

M NISANPublished on: September 9, 20241 Mins read

"Three Israelis were shot and killed at the West Bank-Jordan border."

"At the Allenby crossing on the West Bank and Jordan border, members of the Israeli security forces were involved. In the occupied West Bank, September 4, 2024. Image: AFP"

Three Israelis were killed in a shooting by an armed assailant at a crossing point on the West Bank of Palestine and the Jordan border. The incident took place on Sunday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated in a statement that the attacker came from the Jordanian city of Al-Karameh on a truck on Sunday morning and opened fire on border guards at the Allenby Bridge crossing. The security forces then shot and killed the assailant. They also checked whether there were any explosives in the truck.

Jordan stated that they are investigating the incident. The crossing is located in an area controlled by Israel, where Jordanian trucks unload their cargo. Both sides have closed the crossing after the incident.

An Israeli official told the AFP news agency that the three killed were Israeli security guards, but they were not members of the military or police.

A Jordanian official told Reuters that during the incident, the Israeli military detained at least two dozen Jordanian truck drivers from the cargo unloading area for questioning.

After the incident, all border crossings between Jordan and Israel were closed, according to the Israeli airport authorities.

The Allenby Bridge crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is the only legitimate passage between the West Bank and Jordan that does not go through Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as “a difficult day” for Israel. He expressed condolences to the families of the victims at the start of a cabinet meeting.

Hamas has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but described it as a “natural response” to the Gaza war.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. During the same period, at least 18 Israeli civilians have also been killed in the violence, according to UN data.

Last week, the Israeli army withdrew from the Jenin refugee camp, the largest in the West Bank, after a nine-day operation. This area is a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, home to around 60,000 people.