An attacker from the Israeli-occupied West Bank killed two people in a vehicle ramming and stabbing attack in northern Israel on Friday, the Israeli authorities said.
The Israeli police said a preliminary investigation indicated that the attack, in Israel’s Galilee region, was terrorism.
The killings come amid heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, as Israel continues a monthslong crackdown on militants there that has resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of people.
The attacker ran over a male pedestrian in Beit Shean, near the Israeli border with Jordan, the police said, and then fatally stabbed a young woman nearby. Magen David Adom, an Israeli emergency rescue service, confirmed the deaths of both people. It said two others had sustained minor injuries.
A civilian opened fire on the attacker, who was later taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, the police said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement, identified those killed as Aviv Maor, a teenager, and Shimshon Mordechai, in his late 60s.
The Hamas militant group said the attack was an “expression of the growing, popular anger” and a “result of the Zionist occupation’s daily crimes,” but it stopped short of taking responsibility.
Israel Katz, the defense minister, ordered Israeli security forces to “operate forcefully and immediately” in Qabatiya, a town in the northern West Bank where he said the assailant came from.
“It is necessary to locate and thwart every terrorist and damage terror infrastructure” in the town, his office said in a statement.
The Israeli military said security forces were taking action in Qabatiya to “thwart terrorism.” It said they conducted a raid of the assailant’s home and were mapping it in preparation for its demolition.
Ezra Peri, the spokesman of the Beit Shean municipality, said residents were preparing for the Sabbath when the attacker ran over Mr. Mordechai.
He said they were stunned by the assault. The last time the city experienced comparable violence was in 2002 when six people were killed in an assault at a Likud party office, he said.
“There’s tension and a feeling of some insecurity, but the situation is now under control,” he said, noting that people were making their way to a synagogue on foot Friday evening.
In a statement, Ms. Maor’s parents said their daughter was “a lover of people and animals” and “a talented photographer.”
In Qabatiya, Sadeq Nazzal, 61, an owner of a nursery, said he had seen a succession of military vehicles and a bulldozer entering the town, with a helicopter flying overhead.
Residents, he said, were worried that a prolonged Israeli operation in Qabatiya could paralyze life in the town. Mr. Nazzal said he feared his nursery, which sells olive tree saplings, would have to close for days.
“We’re so tired of this situation,” he said. “It’s enough.”
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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