Three heavily armed terrorist gunmen who attacked a checkpoint near Jerusalem on Thursday, wounding six security forces, were killed as Israeli police fended them off, police have confirmed.
The attackers carried pistols, axes and enough ammunition for “a major attack or a massacre in Israel,” national police chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters, AFP reports.
The wounded members of the security services suffered gunshot wounds, including one who was critically injured, said the emergency medical service Magen David Adom in a statement, adding that two more were lightly wounded.
The attack on a checkpoint guarding road tunnels linking the West Bank and Jerusalem came on the 41st day of the war between Israel and Gaza-based Hamas terrorists and their supporters.
Israeli officers secure the scene after an attack by gunmen on a checkpoint guarding access to road tunnels linking the West Bank and Jerusalem on November 16, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty)
Israeli police officers provide security in the aftermath of the gun battle with Hamas terrorist attackers. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
The successful defense of the vital site will counter critics of Israel who often complain that checkpoints pose unnecessary hardship for Palestinians.
However, this incident proves the importance of the checkpoints.
The terrorists were, according to Israel’s Army Radio, equipped with weapons and ammunition to prosecute a much larger attack inside Jerusalem itself.
It is only because their car was searched at the checkpoint they abandoned their original plan and opened fire on security personnel.