A gunman killed three Israelis at a sensitive border crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to the Israeli military.
The gunman arrived at the Israeli-controlled part of the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan in a truck and opened fire on Israeli security forces, the military said in a statement. The military did not identify the gunman, who was killed at the scene. It said the three victims were civilians.
The crossing, near the West Bank city of Jericho, is the main pathway for most Palestinians in the occupied territory to travel abroad, and has served as an entry point for some aid being delivered to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel described the gunman as “an abhorrent terrorist” and extended his condolences to the families of the victims, who Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency rescue service, described as being in their 50s.
It was not immediately clear how the gunman managed to bring a weapon to the Israeli-controlled part of the crossing. The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement that the Allenby Bridge was closed in addition to two land crossings between Israel and Jordan.
Jordan’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that it was investigating the shooting. The country’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jordan, whose population is heavily made up of people of Palestinian origin, has been the site of large protests over the war in Gaza since the fighting there began in October. But the country is a close U.S. ally that has a peace treaty with Israel, putting it in a tricky position as it navigates the fallout from the war.
Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel in November and has repeatedly condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. King Abdullah II of Jordan has been among the key figures pushing for a cease-fire in the enclave.
At the same time, the desert kingdom has maintained its delicate peace treaty with Israel and continues to coordinate with Israeli officials on matters like security and the economy. In April, Jordan helped intercept Iranian missiles and drones during tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and Israel — a move that Israeli officials welcomed and some Palestinians denounced.
The Allenby Bridge crossing has been the scene of earlier violence. In 2014, Israeli soldiers fatally shot a Jordanian judge of Palestinian origin at the crossing, heightening tensions between the neighboring nations.
In 2023, a Jordanian member of Parliament was charged in a Jordanian court with trying to smuggle weapons through the crossing into the West Bank, according to The Associated Press.
Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967 after capturing it from Jordan during the Arab-Israeli war that year.
Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting.