Two Israeli security guards and a policeman were shot dead by a Palestinian at a checkpoint in the West Bank town of Har Adar on Tuesday morning.

The terrorist, from a neighbouring Palestinian village north west of Jerusalem, was also shot and killed.

In a statement by Israeli police, the Palestinian is said to have “aroused the suspicion of security personnel” at the checkpoint to enter the settlement on Tuesday morning.

He then “raised his shirt, pulled out a pistol and shot… from close range.”

Israeli authorities named the fallen police officer as 20-year-old Solomon Gabariya. Yussef Utman and Or Arish were the security guards killed in the attack.

A fourth, unnamed Israeli is said to have been severely injured.

According to Israeli media reports, the murderer does not fit the usual young and unmarried profile for an attacker. He is said to have been 37, married with four children, and in possession of an Israeli work permit.

Over the last two years, Palestinian terrorists have killed over fifty people, including a British tourist.

In the same period, over 250 Palestinians have been killed, mostly after attempting to carry out acts of terrorism against Israelis, including shootings and stabbings.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, described the attack as “the Palestinian’s welcome greeting to American envoy Jason Greenblatt”. The US representative from the Trump administration arrived in Israel late last night.

Neither the Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations have taken responsibility for the murders, although both have praised them and called for more such attacks.