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 an earlier settler attack in the village of Abu Njeim, southeast of Bethlehem, when settlers smashed the ambulance’s windows and sprayed the medics with pepper spray, the Red Crescent said in a social media statement.

The two paramedics were injured by flying glass and taken to a hospital for treatment.

The ambulance was rendered inoperable, Abdul Halim Jaafreh, director of the Red Crescent ambulance service in Bethlehem, told the Palestinian news agency WAFA.


Medics were attacked while carrying out their duties in the village of Abu Njeim. (Supplied)

The attack came amid broader violence in Abu Njeim, where settlers earlier opened fire on residents’ vehicles, wounding 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, according to the source.

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.

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 health care in the West Bank in 2025, including 142 incidents involving force against health care, 196 cases in which health care delivery was obstructed, and 44 arrests or detentions of health workers or patients.

Thirteen health care workers were killed and 52 were injured in those incidents, the WHO said.