LONDON: Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian ambulance crew in the Bethlehem area of the occupied West Bank on Friday, injuring two paramedics and damaging their vehicle, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
The crew had been responding to reports of an earlier settler attack in the village of Abu Njeim, southeast of Bethlehem, when settlers ambushed the ambulance in the Bir Al-Maa area, the Red Crescent said.
Settlers smashed the ambulance’s windows, threw stones and sprayed the crew with pepper spray, according to the organization and the ambulance crew leader, Mohammed Fawakseh.
“At 19:31 local time on Friday evening, the Red Crescent’s Central Operations Room received several reports of live-fire injuries in the Abu Njeim area near the university housing,” Fawakseh told Arab News. “While the ambulance was en route to the scene, in the Bir Al-Maa area, it was ambushed by a group of settlers.”
“The ambulance was attacked with stones, and crew members were sprayed with pepper spray,” he said, adding that the attackers left “under the protection of the Israeli occupation army forces.”
Medics were attacked while en route to carry out their duties following reports of injuries in the village of Abu Njeim. (Supplied)
Fawakseh suffered head injuries from stone fragments and burning to his face and eyes from pepper spray. Ambulance driver Mohammed Hamamreh suffered similar burning to his face and eyes, along with scratches to his left hand from shattered glass.
Both men were taken to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital for treatment and medical examinations, Fawakseh said.
The ambulance was rendered inoperable, Abdul Halim Jaafreh, director of the Red Crescent ambulance service in Bethlehem, told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The attack occurred amid broader violence in Abu Njeim, where settlers earlier opened fire at residents’ vehicles and wounded one Palestinian with live ammunition, a Palestinian security source told WAFA.
Another Palestinian suffered a broken hand after settlers attacked his truck near university housing in the village, the source said. Settlers later blocked the main road into Abu Njeim and assaulted civil defense crews.
The Red Crescent said its staff were carrying out humanitarian work when the ambulance was attacked and stressed that medical personnel and vehicles are protected under international humanitarian law.
“Medical teams are not targets,” the organization said in its social media statement.
Settlers smashed the ambulance’s windows, threw stones and sprayed the crew with pepper spray. (Supplied)
Violence by Israeli forces and settlers has escalated across the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, following a Hamas-led attack.
Official Palestinian figures say at least 1,182 Palestinians have been killed, about 13,000 injured and nearly 25,000 arrested during that period.
Healthcare workers and facilities have also been affected.
The World Health Organization documented 233 attacks on healthcare in the West Bank in 2025, including 142 incidents involving force, 196 cases in which healthcare delivery was obstructed, and 44 arrests or detentions of workers or patients.
Thirteen healthcare workers were killed and 52 injured in those incidents, the WHO said.
