Shooting Attack at the West Bank-Jordan Border Crossing Kills 3 Israelis

Israeli ambulances are seen at the scene of the attack. (Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service on X)
Israeli ambulances are seen at the scene of the attack. (Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service on X)
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Shooting Attack at the West Bank-Jordan Border Crossing Kills 3 Israelis

Israeli ambulances are seen at the scene of the attack. (Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service on X)
Israeli ambulances are seen at the scene of the attack. (Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service on X)

Three Israelis were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza.

Israel's military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed him in a shootout. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said the three Israelis were all men in their 50s.

Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians.

The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and international tourists, as well as for cargo shipments.  

Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing was closed until further notice. Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israel's larger conflict with Iran and allied armed groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has been a rise in Israeli settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.



Tebboune Elected to Serve Second Term Leading Algeria

Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
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Tebboune Elected to Serve Second Term Leading Algeria

Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been named the winner of Algeria's presidential election, granting him another term leading the gas-rich North African nation five years after protests led to the ouster of his predecessor.

In a result that surprised few observers internationally or in Algeria, the country's independent election authority on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94% of the vote, far outpacing his challengers Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who won 3% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who won 2.1%.

Election officials reported less than six million of the country's 24 million voters had turned out to vote on Saturday, perpetuating the low voter turnout rates that marred Tebboune's first term and raised questions about his popular support.

Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world's population.

Throughout the campaign, activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, railed against the campaign season's repressive atmosphere and the harassment and prosecutions of those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups. Some denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.

But Tebboune and his two challengers each urged political participation and specifically made overtures to the Algerian youth, who make up a majority of the population and disproportionately suffer from poverty and unemployment.