Palestinian Man Kills Two in Northern Israel Car-Ramming and Stabbing Attack
On 26 December 2025 in Afula, northern Israel, a Palestinian assailant from the occupied West Bank town of Qabatiya carried out a car-ramming and stabbing attack. The assailant killed a man and a woman and wounded a teenager. A civilian at the scene shot and wounded the attacker, who was then taken to hospital.
Israeli police described the incident as a rolling terror attack. Defense Minister Israel Katz stated he had instructed the military to respond forcefully in Qabatiya to prevent further attacks. The Israeli military announced preparations for an operation in the West Bank area. Israel regularly conducts raids in West Bank towns from which attackers originate and demolishes their families' homes, a practice criticized by rights groups as collective punishment.
The ambulance service reported the two fatalities at the scene and the injury of the teenager.
UN figures cited indicate that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank between 7 October 2023 and 17 October 2025, while 57 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the same timeframe.
Separately, an Israeli reservist soldier was placed under house arrest after ramming a Palestinian man who was praying on a West Bank roadside. The soldier's weapon was confiscated and his service terminated.
