Israel Police officer injured in ramming attack, 2 suspects arrested

An Israeli police officer was injured north of Beersheba when a suspect rammed her with his car and fled.

 Israeli security forces at the scene of a suspected ramming attack against a group of soldiers patrolling near West Bank city of Nablus, on September 24, 2022 (photo credit: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli security forces at the scene of a suspected ramming attack against a group of soldiers patrolling near West Bank city of Nablus, on September 24, 2022
(photo credit: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)

A 22-year-old police officer was hit by a car and suffered light-medium injuries in an apparent ramming attack, near the town of Karmit north of Beersheba on Tuesday.

The ramming occurred after a group of police officers noticed a suspicious car carrying multiple passengers on Highway 60, driving in the direction of Meitar checkpoint.

The officers suspected the passengers to be illegal residents and it is possible the driver was smuggling weapons as well, Ynet News reported.

When the officers signaled the driver to stop and walked in front of the car, the suspect then started driving erratically and hit one of the officers before fleeing the scene.

Police forces launched a search for the suspect, including a police helicopter. The car was found in the Bedouin town of Hura and two suspects were apprehended.

 Israel Police set up a checkpoint on a highway after a deadly terrorist attack in Hadera, March 28, 2022 (credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
Israel Police set up a checkpoint on a highway after a deadly terrorist attack in Hadera, March 28, 2022 (credit: ISRAEL POLICE)

Magen David Adom first responders described the scene: "The injured officer lay on the road fully conscious and suffering from injuries on the back and limbs. We gave her initial treatment including fixations and evacuated her for further treatment at the hospital, while she was in stable condition."

The injured officer was evacuated to Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba.

Recent car ramming incidents in Israel

There have been a number of ramming incidents in the past month. The last one comes a day after Israel Police announced that an incident at first reported as a car accident, turned out to have been a terrorist ramming attack.

A somewhat similar incident happened on Route 60 in the West Bank on December 18, when two Palestinians were killed by a Jewish driver in what the police reported as an accident, but the PA claimed was a deliberate attack.