Palestinian attacks two officers with axe, shot dead

The attack followed a collision between an IDF jeep and the Palestinian's vehicle in the West Bank.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, BEN HARTMAN
IDF Jeep after West Bank accident 390 (photo credit: Courtesy Israel Police)
IDF Jeep after West Bank accident 390
(photo credit: Courtesy Israel Police)
A Palestinian driver rammed his vehicle into an army jeep containing Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officers and attacked them with an ax, before being shot dead on Monday.
A man identified by various sources as Hatem Shadid veered his vehicle from his lane to the oncoming lane and collided head-on with the jeep on Route 57 in the northern West Bank, security forces said.
The Shin Bet officers had been carrying out operational duties in the area, between Shavei Shomron and Einav.
All five of the jeep’s occupants were lightly injured in the collision, and two were moderately injured in the ax attack.
“He lunged at the men while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ [God is great],” a security source said. A Shin Bet officer shot and killed the attacker.
An initial investigation has found that Shadid was a resident of the Tulkarm area.
Security forces are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said large numbers of police and army forces attended the scene.
It remains unclear whether the incident was a lone-wolf attack or an organization dispatched the attacker.
The Shin Bet carries out daily security missions in the West Bank, working with the IDF in targeting active terrorism suspects.