Two people were seriously wounded and four others were wounded in light-moderate condition in a terrorist shooting attack near a shopping mall in Ma'aleh Adumim in the West Bank on Tuesday afternoon.
The suspected terrorist was shot by an off-duty Border Police officer, with footage from the scene showing the suspect on the ground and unresponsive. The terrorist reportedly used a handgun in the attack and was carrying a backpack containing extra ammunition.
תיעוד הפיגוע: המחבל יורה על עוברי אורח, נמלט - ומחוסל על ידי קצין מג"ב בחופשהכל העדכונים - https://t.co/pneNVBFzBh@OrHeller pic.twitter.com/Psyte0fGcJ
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) August 1, 2023
Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Border Police commander Brik Yitzhak were headed to the scene after the attack was reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was receiving updates on the situation at the IDF's Central Command base as he was visiting the base with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi when the attack occurred.
During the visit to Central Command, Netanyahu praised the officer who shot the terrorist in Ma'aleh Adumim. Gallant also referenced the attack, wishing a full recovery for those wounded and expressing support for the Border Police officer who shot the terrorist.
Ma'aleh Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel told KAN news that the terrorist had an entry permit and worked as a cleaner in a community center in the city.
The Shin Bet said on Tuesday that the terrorist was Muhannad Muhammad Suleiman Al-Mazara’a, 20, a resident of the town of al-Eizariya and Bethlehem, near Ma'aleh Adumim. The agency confirmed it had issued him a work permit, clearing him as a non-security risk. It added that it was still probing how he beat its security check or what changed in his life situation which led him to commit the terror attack.
Until recent years, the Shin Bet's approval of Palestinian workers had a 100% non-terror rate. Even after a small number of incidents in recent years, the 210,000 West Bank and 18,000 Gaza Palestinians approved for work in Israel are almost universally not involved in terror.
Deputy mayor of Ma'aleh Adumim Guy Yifrah stated after the attack that the municipality would convene to assess the situation and that the entry of Palestinian workers to the city would be halted until further notice. Tu Be'Av events planned in the city for Tuesday evening were also postponed.
Later on Tuesday evening, Palestinian media reported that Israeli forces entered al-Mazara’a's home in al-Eizariya.
Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanou responded to the attack stating "The strikes of the revolutionaries and resistance fighters will not stop in defense of our land and sanctities and to thwart the settler government's plan to build the alleged Temple on the ruins of Al-Aqsa Mosque."
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist movement responded as well, stating "We commend the heroic commando operation that was carried out by a heroic Palestinian resistance fighter in the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement built on our occupied land, east of Jerusalem."
Additionally, later on Tuesday evening, a terrorist was shot after attempting to carry out a stabbing attack at the Eshtamoa Junction in the southern West Bank, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
Latest attack in ongoing wave of terror
The shooting is the first attack reported since a stabbing attack in which a man was seriously wounded in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem a little over a week ago.
Additionally, three Israelis were wounded near the Tekoa junction in the southern West Bank in an attack about two weeks ago.
This is a developing story. Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.