Two IDF soldiers shot by alleged Palestinian terrorist on Highway 443

The wounds do not appear to be serious, according to Magen David Adom.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: MARCH 13, 2016 03:39
Soldiers keep guard at checkpoint near Qalandia (photo credit: REUTERS)
Soldiers keep guard at checkpoint near Qalandia
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Palestinian gunman in a car opened fire at a checkpoint on Route 443 on Friday night, lightly wounding two soldiers. The incident occurred near Bet Horon, in Binyamin.
Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the two soldiers, one with a bullet wound to the leg and one with bruising, to Sha’are Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where doctors listed both in satisfactory condition.
The gunman escaped back into Palestinian Authority territory, security forces said, and IDF units launched a search for him.
The incident is the latest in a string of recent Palestinian firearm attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank, targeting Israeli civilians and members of the security forces.
Earlier on Friday, an Israeli was lightly wounded in a stabbing attack near Jerusalem’s Dung Gate. The victim, a 30-year-old haredi man, was evacuated to Sha’are Zedek.
The attacker fled the scene, but was soon arrested by police with the assistance of CCTV cameras that caught him hiding in one of the alleys of the Old City. The suspect is a 19-year-old resident of the West Bank.
On Wednesday, two Palestinian gunmen fired on a bus in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood, and later, at police officers, wounding one. Both terrorists were shot dead by police return fire.
The previous day, two Border Police officers were shot and seriously wounded by a Palestinian terrorist opposite the Old City’s Damascus Gate. The gunman was shot dead by police in his vehicle soon afterwards, on Salah a-Din Road.
Last week, IDF units came under fire in the Kalandiya refugee camp, during a rescue operation to extract two soldiers who accidentally drove into the area.
During exchanges of fire, “one of the Palestinian gunmen was shot in the head and killed. He was armed. Others were injured. Our forces sustained a number of injuries, both Border Police and IDF combat soldiers,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said as he described that incident last week.
Late Thursday, the security cabinet approved the immediate renewal of construction work on the security barrier around the area of Jerusalem, in an effort to halt Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis.
The security cabinet also agreed to fast-track legislation against those who help Palestinians to live and work illegally in the country and to make it easier to obtain permits to demolish the homes of terrorists.