The Israeli army reported Sunday that an overnight incident at a checkpoint in east Jerusalem resulted in the shooting death of an Israeli soldier.
The manhunt for the attacker who “shot and critically injured two Israelis” at a checkpoint close to the Shuafat Palestinian refugee camp had been reported earlier by a police official.
According to Magen David Adom (MADA), Israel’s version of the Red Cross and the emergency medical services, a third person, whose nationality was not disclosed, was injured by “shrapnel.”
On Sunday morning, the Israeli army confirmed in a brief statement that “an (Israel Defense Forces soldier) was killed as a result of being critically injured by a shooting attack”.
“The soldier was evacuated to a hospital for further medical treatment, and was declared dead” he added.
Blood covered the paving stones at the crossing in east Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed, following the attack, and it was closed and roped off with red police tape.
Numerous officers were stationed near the crossing and inside the camp where the pyrotechnics were being let off.
The police claimed to have used special forces and a helicopter in the manhunt. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, access to the Shuafat refugee camp was being denied to its medical staff.
Yair Lapid, the prime minister of Israel, called the shooting a “serious” assault.
“My heart is with the wounded and their families this evening. Terror will not defeat us, we are strong even on this difficult evening,” the premier said in a statement.
East Jerusalem has been under Israeli authority since the 1967 Six-Day War, and Israel eventually annexed the region in a move that was not recognised internationally.
Early on Saturday, according to the Red Crescent, five patients were treated close to east Jerusalem’s Old City, including one who had been struck by a rubber-coated bullet.
One police officer was mildly injured as a result of the arrests of seven youngsters and one adult who were allegedly “engaging in unrest, throwing stones and attacks on police officers” in the area, according to Israeli police.
Muslims had earlier congregated in large numbers at the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem to commemorate the birth of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.
Before arriving to the holy location, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, Palestinian scouts marched through the Old City.
Jews are celebrating a number of religious holidays, with the Sukkot holiday beginning on Sunday night.
