Child Killed by Israeli Police During Ramming Attack on West Bank Checkpoint

An ambulance is deployed at the scene of a reported car-ramming attack at the Ras Bidu checkpoint near the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev, between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on Jan. 7, 2024. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli police have opened an investigation into the death of a Palestinian child during a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint near the West Bank settlement of Givat Zeev, northwest of Jerusalem.

In a Jan. 7 statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Israeli authorities said an officer mistakenly shot at the vehicle carrying the young girl during a “drive-by attack” on Israel Border Police.

According to police, a vehicle with a man and a woman inside plowed into officers at the checkpoint. Other border police at the scene gave chase, opening fire at the vehicle. Both occupants were “neutralized,” Israel Border Police said.

In the aftermath, Israeli authorities reportedly discovered a young girl in another car had also been hit by gunfire. Her age has not been conclusively determined, but it’s suspected she was no more than 3 or 4 years old. Two United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs who attended the scene told the media they were initially called to treat the wounded patrol officer.

“At the beginning of the incident, we provided initial treatment to a woman who suffered light limb injuries,” the EMTs said.

“While we were treating her, a 4-year-old girl was brought to us in critical condition, and after unsuccessful resuscitation attempts, her death was pronounced at the scene.”

Tensions have increased in the West Bank since Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation to the Oct.7 attacks by Hamas, and begun to target terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank, including tunnels and bomb-making facilities.

Another Border Police officer was killed in the northern West Bank city of Jenin over the weekend in a roadside bomb attack that also injured three others. At the same location, an Israeli military helicopter unleashed an air strike on a group throwing explosives at Israeli vehicles. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, seven Palestinians were killed during the strike.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he departs from Abu Dhabi for Saudi Arabia on Jan. 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East. Evelyn Hockstein/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken Returns to Middle East

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has returned to the Middle East to ramp up diplomatic efforts and prevent the conflict between Hamas and Israel from spreading, calling it a “moment of profound tension in the region” and “a matter of global concern.”

Intensifying violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and strikes by Tehran-linked groups on U.S. bases in Iraq have created an increasingly dangerous situation in the Middle East.

“From day one, among other priorities, we have been intensely focused on working to prevent the conflict from spreading, and that is indeed a major focus of what is now my fourth visit to the region since October 7,” Mr. Blinken said.

“We share a commitment to ensure that the conflict does not expand, and I think we also share a commitment to use the influence, the relationships, the ties that we have with different parties in the region to try to avoid escalation and to deter new fronts from opening.”

The U.S. secretary of state has already visited Jordan, Turkey, and Greece on a tour that also includes Israel, the West Bank, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.