One killed, eight wounded in terror attack in Israel

Officials say a group of Palestinians went on a shooting spree outside Jerusalem

Three terrorists staged a shooting spree to the north of Jerusalem on Thursday, killing one man and injuring eight other people near a highway checkpoint during a traffic jam, Israeli authorities have said. 

Two of the gunmen were killed at the scene by security forces and armed civilians, police said. The third has been detained, according to the Times of Israel, but his condition is unclear.

The man who was killed was in his 20s, local media cited medics as saying. The Magen David Adom Ambulance service has said it treated 12 people, including a woman aged 23, who is in serious condition, four others whose condition is moderate, and another five with minor injuries and acute anxiety.

Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, has identified the terrorists as brothers Muhammad Zawahra, 26 and Kathem Zawahra, 31 – both residents of the village of Ta’amra near Bethlehem in the West Bank. The third attacker was identified as Ahmed Al-Wahsh, 31, also a resident of the Bethlehem area.

Shin Bet noted that one of the Zawahra brothers had previously been jailed for illegally entering Israel.

Police have reported that the three attackers, who opened fire on civilians waiting in traffic just a few hundred meters from a checkpoint, were armed with assault rifles, makeshift submachine guns and a grenade.

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