Two vehicles were set ablaze overnight Thursday in the West Bank village of Atara, near Ramallah, amid escalating tensions following recent attacks targeting Israelis. Graffiti found at the scene included calls for revenge linked to two separate incidents earlier in the week.
One message referenced the killing of Netanel Shakron, a resident of the West Bank settlement Alei Zahav, who was shot and killed on Sunday while visiting the Ein Re’iya spring near the Neveh Tzuf settlement with his son. According to initial investigations, a Palestinian gunman fired from a vehicle at a group of Israelis before fleeing toward the nearby town of Birzeit. The assailant later abandoned the vehicle and was apprehended at a hospital, reportedly wounded by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tracker who was in the area during the attack. Hamas praised the shooting, describing it as retaliation for ongoing visits by settlers and Israeli officials to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, as well as for settler-related violence in the West Bank.
The graffiti also referenced a separate incident on Wednesday involving a car-ramming attack near Maccabim, in which Neria Leiter, the son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was seriously injured. The attack occurred at the Bell checkpoint on Route 443, where Leiter, a reservist, was standing on the Palestinian side alongside Israeli security personnel. According to Israeli police, the driver accelerated toward Leiter before exiting the vehicle and advancing toward a soldier stationed at the checkpoint. Security forces subsequently shot and killed the assailant, identified by the Palestinian Authority’s Civil Affairs Ministry as Mahmoud Mohammed Suleiman, 29, from Beit Ur al-Tahta. Israeli authorities said Suleiman was not known to be affiliated with any terrorist organization but cautioned against potential copycat attacks.
Additional graffiti sprayed near the torched vehicles included phrases such as “Qusra, wait for Thursday” and “Evacuations – we promised, we delivered,” reflecting frustration and calls for retaliation among settler communities.
The incidents have contributed to heightened tensions in the West Bank, underscoring ongoing security concerns amid persistent violence in the area. Israeli forces continue to maintain a strong presence at checkpoints and settlements, while Palestinian security officials have condemned the attacks and expressed concern over retaliatory violence. The body of Suleiman remains in Israeli custody, according to the Palestinian Authority.