Three Israeli shot Dead at West Bank-Jordan Crossing

Three Israeli men have been killed, shot dead in an attack at a border point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials say. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said three Israeli civilians were killed in the shooting at the Allenby Bridge crossing.

The attacker of the three Israelis approached the area from the Jordanian side in a truck, then got out and opened fire, this has been reported by Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

A statement said, security forces “eliminated” the gunman and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checked the truck over for signs of explosives, but later ruled that out.

From certain media, video footage showed the attacker walking to the terminal and firing his weapon three times before he was shot dead by Israeli security forces.

Jordan says it is investigating the incident, which happened in an Israeli-controlled area where Jordanian vehicles offload goods entering the West Bank. Both sides have shut the border point.

All of Israel’s land crossings with Jordan have also been closed after the incident, the Israel Airports Authority said.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a “hard day” and sent his condolences to the victims’ families of three Israeli shot dead at West Bank at the start of a cabinet meeting.

He added: “A loathsome terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge.”

The crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, lies about halfway between Amman and Jerusalem and is the only official crossing point between the West Bank and Jordan.

It is also the only entry point to the West Bank that does not go through Israel.

Jordan’s state-run news agency Petra said Israeli forces have heightened their military presence at the crossing.

The Palestinian health ministry says more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in a surge in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Last week, Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin city and its refugee camp – an area in the West Bank – after a major nine-day operation there. The area is a stronghold of militants and has a civilian population of about 60,000.

Israel says it is trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel, and acting against terrorism.

However, the United Nations has called for a “full investigation” into the killing of a US-Turkish woman in the occupied West Bank during a protest on Friday.

Local media reported that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was shot dead by Israeli forces as she took part in a weekly protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita near Nablus.

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Israel’s military said it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area”.

Ms Eygi’s family said in a statement they were in shock and grief that the loving and “fiercely passionate human rights activist” was gone.

The family said the video showed she was killed by a bullet from an Israeli military shooter and called for the US to investigate.

The US has urged Israel to investigate the incident. Sean Savett, spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said Washington was “deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen”.

“We have reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident,” Mr Savett said.

The Palestinian health ministry says at least 36 Palestinians were killed – 21 from Jenin governorate – in that time. Most of the dead have been claimed by armed groups as members, but the ministry says children are also among those killed.

In the past 50 years, Israel has built settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where more than 700,000 Jews now live.

Settlements are held to be illegal under international law – that is the position of the UN Security Council and the UK government, among others – although Israel rejects this.