Palestinian Terrorist Injures Two Israelis in West Bank Shooting

Latest Developments

A Palestinian terrorist wounded two Israelis on a West Bank highway on April 7. The assailant shot at a bus and car on Route 55 between the towns of Azzun and Nabi Ilyas, wounding a 19-year-old female Israeli soldier and a 50-year-old male civilian. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are searching for the attacker who fled the scene. Border police destroyed the terrorist’s car, which contained several dozen kilograms of explosives.

Expert Analysis

“The Palestinian Authority is not capable of maintaining security in the West Bank. To stabilize the West Bank, Ramallah must tackle head-on the Iranian attempts to erode the PA’s sovereignty and flip the West Bank into a Hamas-ruled terror enclave. While it is notable that the situation has not yet devolved into a full-blown intifada, the situation will likely continue to deteriorate until new leadership finally faces the Iranian challenge directly.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“A concerning trend is developing in the West Bank. Several incidents have occurred in which Israeli and Palestinian forces have thwarted Palestinians armed with explosives. Both Palestinians and Israelis must work together to address this growing threat before an attacker is successful in causing harm to innocent civilians.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

A Resurgence of Terrorism

Since October 7, Palestinian terrorists have murdered at least 13 Israelis in Israel and the West Bank. For example, on March 28, a terrorist affiliated with the PA security forces shot at multiple school buses and cars driving through al-Auja in the West Bank, wounding three Israelis. This marked the third terror attack executed by a member of the PA security forces in one month. The assailant turned himself in to the Israeli authorities on March 31. On April 2, a car-ramming attack in Kochav Yair, bordering the West Bank, injured four Israeli police officers. The assailant struck the officers with a car and then drove to the Eliyahu Crossing checkpoint in the West Bank, where he attempted to stab a separate group of Israeli officers before they shot him dead.

These incidents follow a wave of terror attacks against Israel that began even before Hamas’s October 7 massacre, making 2023 “one of the deadliest years since the Second Intifada,” reported The Jerusalem Post. According to Israeli government statistics, more than 2,800 terrorist attacks against Israelis — not including the October 7 massacre — took place in 2023, killing more than 40.

Palestinian Authority Fails to Quell West Bank Terrorism

Ongoing terror attacks in the West Bank amplify concerns about the PA’s ability to govern the West Bank. On February 26, PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh resigned in anticipation of postwar governance challenges. Washington has repeatedly said that a “revitalized” PA should govern Gaza after the war. However, concerns remain over the PA’s ability to govern an independent Palestinian state, especially one ruled in coordination with Hamas.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who is in the 20th year of a four-year term, has presided over a corrupt and ineffective government that has lost legitimacy among the Palestinian people. The PA also continues to provide controversial welfare payments to Palestinian terrorists or their surviving families — a practice known as “pay to slay” — and allows Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups to operate in the West Bank without significant limitations.

Related Analysis

“Terrorists Connected To Palestinian Security Forces Carry Out Third Attack Within A Month,” FDD Flash Brief

“Palestinian Shoots Up Israeli School Buses and Cars in West Bank’s Jordan Valley,” FDD Flash Brief

“The Two-State Solution Is A Dangerous Pipedream,” by Enia Krivine

“10 Things to Know About the Palestinian Authority,” FDD Flash Brief