3 Israeli Guards Killed Sunday in Allenby Bridge Attack Named
The three Israeli civilians who were killed Sunday in a shooting at the Allenby Crossing between Jordan and the West Bank were named as Yohanan Shchori, 61, from Ma’ale Efraim; Yuri Birnbaum, 65, from Na’ama; and Adrian Marcelo Podzamczer, 57, from Ariel, all three locations in the West Bank. The men worked private security guards at the border terminal. Israeli authorities reported that the assailant opened fire on the men at close range before being killed by a security guard at the scene.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the attacker, identified as 39-year-old Maher Diab Hussein Al-Jazi from the Maan governorate in Jordan, approached the crossing in a truck used to transport goods between Jordan and the West Bank. He exited the vehicle and began shooting at Israeli security forces. The IDF released a photograph of the handgun used in the attack.
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Jordanian authorities confirmed that Al-Jazi acted alone, with a preliminary investigation revealing that he regularly crossed the border in his work as a truck driver. His brother, Shady Al-Jazi, expressed shock at the news, suggesting that Maher’s anger over Israel’s military actions in Gaza may have motivated the attack. He said in an interview with Jordanian media outlet Ammon, “His grief over what’s happening to the Muslim nation, seeing all the killing in Gaza, and every one of us who feels passionately for his brethren, this could motivate him.”
Following the attack, all three land crossings between Israel and Jordan were closed but reopened on Monday morning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, referring to the shooter as a “despicable terrorist” and attributing the violence to a broader “murderous ideology” led by Iran.
The incident comes amid increased violence in the region following Israel’s military response to Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel. Clashes in the West Bank have escalated since then, with nearly 700 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
