Israel Police Deputy Commissioner Avi Bitton said the man was known to security forces and had a permit to work in Israel. The Islamic militant group Hamas called the incident a “heroic operation” but has not claimed responsibility.
Following a briefing of the incident, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement: “I extend my condolences to the family of the victim of this morning’s vehicular attack and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. This is an attack with serious consequences.”
The attack comes just a day after Israeli police shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who stabbed a man in Jerusalem, and after Palestinian militants detonated a bomb near a convoy of Jewish worshippers going to a holy site in the West Bank, wounding four Israeli soldiers.
Responders arrived at the Maccabim checkpoint following the incident. (Photo: Flash90)
The flurry of attacks is consistent with the yearlong surge of violence in the West Bank, which has risen in intensity to levels unseen in the last two decades. More than 30 people have been killed in terror attacks against Israelis this year alone.