Israeli security personnel stand guard in the aftermath of a violent Palestinian terror attack near Jerusalem, Nov. 16, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

An Israeli soldier was murdered in a terrorist attack carried out by Hamas near Jerusalem on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed.

Three Palestinian terrorists opened fire on Israeli security forces at the “tunnels” checkpoint connecting Jerusalem with settlements in the southern portion of the West Bank, police and medics said earlier in the day.

The terrorists wounded six Israelis — including one man listed by Israel’s emergency response service Magen David Adom as in critical condition — before being killed by Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint.

The man in critical condition later succumbed to his injuries, according to the Israeli army. He was identified as 20-year-old Cpl. Avraham Fetena, from Haifa, a soldier of the IDF’s Military Police.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was “in revenge for the blood of the martyrs in Gaza.” While the Palestinian terrorist group is based in and rules Gaza, it also operates out of the West Bank.

According to police, guns, hundreds of bullets, two axes, clothing similar to Israeli military uniforms, and fake Israeli license plates were found in the terrorists’ vehicles.

“They intended to carry out a massacre, an attack on a completely different scale,” said Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai.

Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman expressed similar sentiments.

“Axes and a lot of ammunition were found in the terrorists’ vehicle,” Turgeman said. “They were probably planning to carry out a more significant operation in Jerusalem, but we eliminated them before they could do so.”

Last month, Hamas launched the current war in Gaza with its brutal invasion of Israel. On Oct. 7, terrorists infiltrated the Jewish state from Gaza and murdered over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240 others as hostages.

After the attack, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is also the chairman of the Otzma Yehudit Party, called for tougher measures against both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank.

“We need to deal with Hamas in the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority, which has similar views to Hamas and its heads identified with Hamas’ [Oct. 7] massacre, exactly like we are dealing with Gaza,” he said.

While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have freedom of movement in the West Bank, the PA is in charge of security in most parts of the territory. Over the past few years, however, the PA’’ control in the area has weakened substantially due to local Palestinians not trusting their rule, as well as anger directed at PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

The terrorists in Thursday’s attack were identified as members of Hamas who lived in Hebron. While Hamas is based in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian terrorist group also operates in the West Bank.

“We are warning that the checkpoint has become a death trap because of the bottleneck it causes which endangers the residents who wait along the whole length of the road for too long, and the crowding which doesn’t provide for any solution during a tragic event,” said Oded Revivi, mayor of Efrat, a settlement near Jerusalem.

He called for “an immediate solution” to the problem, expressing his fear of the security risk of “terrorists [opening] fire on a group of cars in a traffic jam, and the physical inability of emergency service vehicles to reach them.”

Following the attack, the checkpoint was closed while security forces scanned the area for more potential threats.