Suspected Ramming Attack in Northern Israel Injures Nine, Driver ‘Neutralized’
A suspected vehicular ramming attack at a bus station in northern Israel on Thursday left at least nine people injured, including a 17-year-old girl who is in critical condition, according to Fox News. The incident occurred at the Karkur Junction on Route 65.
Israeli police have stated that the driver of the vehicle involved in the attack was also injured and subsequently "neutralized" at the scene. Law enforcement officials have yet to provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the driver’s "neutralization."
All of the wounded individuals were promptly evacuated to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Among the nine victims, two others sustained severe injuries, while the remaining six suffered light injuries, as reported by Fox News.
An Israeli police spokesperson released a statement, obtained by Fox News, identifying the driver as a 53-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin area. The statement indicated that the individual was "in Israel unlawfully and married to an Israeli citizen."
The statement further revealed that preliminary findings suggest the driver "deliberately targeted civilians waiting at a bus stop." The statement concluded, "The terrorist has been neutralized. This remains an active investigation."
The police commissioner is currently conducting an on-site situational assessment in response to the incident, according to the statement. Graphic images circulating show what appears to be a man’s body in the street next to the vehicle used in the attack, with members of the Israeli security forces nearby within a cordoned-off area.
A heavy police presence has been established in the area as authorities conduct a search for any potential additional attackers.
The attack comes amid escalating tensions in the West Bank in recent days. On Sunday, Israeli forces deployed tanks into the northern West Bank town of Jenin for the first time in two decades, Reuters reported.
The incident in Israel coincides with the introduction of a new bill by House Republicans aimed at addressing the rising threat of vehicular terrorism. House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who chairs the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, introduced the bill in the wake of an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that resulted in 14 fatalities.
The proposed legislation would mandate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an annual report on emerging threats and countermeasures related to vehicular terrorism. The bill highlights the increasing radicalization of individuals on U.S. soil, often through ISIS publications and propaganda, leading to violence against Americans. Vehicular-ramming attacks are identified as a significant and growing method employed in such acts.
The New Orleans attacker was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran from Texas who had transitioned to a lucrative consulting job and, according to authorities, had been radicalized.
"The horrific ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans makes tragically clear how vehicles are weaponized as instruments of terror," stated Gimenez. "DHS must take actionable steps to counter the gross proliferation of vehicular threats and share the findings of its assessment with Congress and the American people."
Green echoed this sentiment, adding, "DHS must take seriously the rising occurrences of vehicle-ramming terrorist attacks. In order to protect the American people, we must adapt to threats as they evolve with new technology and capabilities."
Vice President JD Vance recently addressed the increased trend of ramming attacks globally by alleged Islamic extremists during his address at the Munich Security Conference regarding mass migration. He noted that just a day before his arrival in Munich, an Afghan refugee allegedly drove his vehicle into a crowd, killing a mother and her two-year-old daughter while injuring dozens of others.
"It’s a terrible story, but it’s one we’ve heard way too many times in Europe, and unfortunately too many times in the United States as well," Vance said. "An asylum seeker, often a young man in his mid-20s, already known to police, rams a car into a crowd and shatters a community. How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?"
This remains a developing news story. Check back for updates. Fox News Yael Kuriel and Thomas Ferraro contributed to this report.
