Hamas has commended Thursday's attack at Karkur Junction, which left a 17-year-old girl in critical condition and two others seriously injured. The attacker, Jamil Ziyud, originally from the village of Silat al-Harithiya in northern Samaria, was illegally residing in Israel and married to an Arab-Israeli woman.
In a statement issued by Hamas, they labeled the attack a "heroic natural response to the aggression and crimes committed by Israel in Judea and Samaria, especially in northern Samaria, alongside the policy of Jewish settlement and attempts to seize control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Cave of the Patriarchs."
Hamas asserted that the attack serves as a message to the "extreme" Israeli government, emphasizing "there are brave fighters and revolutionaries in both the occupied West Bank and across all of Palestine who will not renounce their rights. The resistance will continue until the occupation is removed from their land."
Hamas has urged the Palestinian public to escalate their struggle against Israel through acts of terror to make the "occupiers and their settlers" feel insecure.
Security officials are investigating whether the attacker sought revenge for his brother’s injury during an IDF operation. His brother was wounded during the ongoing operation in Jenin and is still hospitalized in the city.
The attacker was in Israel illegally but had no other criminal record. He was married to an Israeli citizen residing in Umm al-Fahm, and his children hold Israeli citizenship. Fourteen people were injured in the attack, including the 17-year-old girl in critical condition, a 60-year-old man, and a 19-year-old girl who were also seriously hurt.