At least three people were injured Saturday night in a suspected shooting attack at the Shuafat checkpoint in East Jerusalem, according to police and medics.
Police said a gunman shot at security forces at the checkpoint, while a suspect also opened fire from a passing vehicle, wounding a soldier and a security guard.
A police statement did not elaborate on their condition, but the Magen David Adom rescue service said paramedics were treating three people — one critically wounded and another in serious condition. The two were taken to a hospital in Jerusalem for medical treatment. MDA said a third person was lightly hurt and being treated at the scene.
Officers were searching for suspects in the attack.
The incident comes as military and police are on heightened alert in Jerusalem and the West Bank over the Jewish holiday season.
Tensions were already high due to an ongoing anti-terror campaign in the West Bank that has seen over 100 Palestinians killed and more than 2,000 arrested in nightly raids, during which Israeli troops have regularly been targeted by gunfire. Most of those killed were gunmen or participants in violent clashes, but some were unarmed civilians.
Terrorists opened fire on security forces at the Shoafat checkpoint. Two young men were injured, apparently mortally and seriously. According to various reports, the vehicle in which the terrorists fled into Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/dCZ9aN6QMF
— Hanan Greenwood (@hanan_green) October 8, 2022
The operation was launched after a series of attacks that killed 19 people between mid-March and the beginning of May.
