Israeli police say two dead in car attack, stabbing by Palestinian

A Palestinian assailant rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a young woman in northern Israel on Friday, killing both, police said, as the Israeli Defense Minister quickly ordered military retaliation against what he said was the attacker’s hometown in the West Bank.

The attack began on Friday afternoon in the northern town of Beit Shean, where the Palestinian crashed his vehicle into several people, killing one man and injuring a teenager. He then sped onto a highway, where he stopped and fatally stabbed the woman, police said. The man was 68 years old and the woman was 18, said paramedics, who declared both died at the scene.

The attacker was heading to the nearby town of Afula when a security officer shot him, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the victims as Aviv Maor, a teenager, and Shimshon Mordechai, 68.

Herzog said he was shocked by the “horrible slaughter.” He said Israel was “committed to reinforcing and strengthening this challenging border and, of course, to reinforcing the security response in the area for the complete safety of the residents.”

Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, condemned the attack “on innocent civilians.”

“For Jew-haters and anti-Israels, these intentional killings threaten a short- and long-term solution to lasting peace,” he wrote in a social media post.

Shortly after the attack, the Israeli military began amassing troops near the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attacker was from.

Katz said he had ordered troops to “act strongly and immediately” against what he called “terrorist infrastructure” in the city.

“Anyone who aids or sponsors terrorism will pay the full price,” he said.

It is common practice for Israel to launch raids on West Bank cities where attackers come from or demolish homes belonging to their families. Israel says this helps locate militant infrastructure and prevents future attacks. Human rights advocates describe such actions as collective punishment.

Over the past few weeks, raids have been carried out in the Qabatiya area, which is located in the northern West Bank, near the main city of Jenin.

Friday’s incident came a day after a plainclothes Israeli reservist soldier rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man while he was praying on the side of a road in the West Bank.

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused a wave of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with an increase in attacks by Palestinian militants, as well as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

In September, Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem, killing six people and wounding 12 others, according to Israeli officials.