3 Israel forces killed in illegal settlement, Palestinian shot dead

A Palestinian opened fire on Israeli guards and Border Police forces outside the entrance to a settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) early this morning, killing three. The gunman was shot, and died of his wounds.

The incident took place outside Har Adar, an Israeli settlement near Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The three Israelis killed include one Border Police officer, named as First Sgt. Solomon Gabariya, and two private guards. A fourth individual is reported wounded.

صور أخرى من مكان تنفيذ #عملية_قطنة على بوابة مستوطنة "هار أدار" شمال غرب القدس المحتلة pic.twitter.com/3zPIPyeQyS

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 26, 2017

[Translation: Other photos from the scene of the Qatna Operation, at the gate of Har Adal settlement north-west of occupied Jerusalem]

The Palestinian assailant was named in local media as Nimr Jamal, a 37-year-old father-of-four from Beit Surik, in the occupied West Bank. Israeli media said Jamal had no record of ‘security offenses’.

According to various reports, the Palestinian approached a guard post outside the settlement around 7am, before opening fire with a pistol. The attack occurred at the rear entrance to the settlement where Palestinian labourers with work permits enter.

Over the last two years, around 300 Palestinians, and 50 Israelis, have been killed in violence in Israel and the oPt, according to an AFP tally.

Israel claims that most of the Palestinian fatalities were assailants, or alleged assailants, though Palestinians and human rights groups have disputed the circumstances of many such incidents.

Read: Israel kills 11 Palestinian children since start of 2017

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces during raids, unarmed protests, or attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The vast majority of Palestinian attacks have occurred in the oPt, under Israeli military occupation since June 1967, typically targeting Israeli forces and settlers.