In a dramatic development, senior IDF officials informed the families of three soldiers seriously injured when a Palestinian rammed his truck into them in Gush Etzion that the incident was indeed a terrorist attack, according to Channel Two.

A little over two weeks ago, just hours after a car attack in Jerusalem killed a border policeman and serious wounded several others – including an Israeli student who succumbed to his wounds shortly after – the three IDF soldiers were run over by a Palestinian driver as they stood guard in the Etzion Bloc south of the capital.

CCTV footage showed what appeared to be a deliberate attack, with the driver swerving to hit the soldiers at great speed. 

But when, after a series of arrests, the Palestinian driver turned himself in to Israeli security forces, the IDF and police announced they were treating it as a hit-and-run accident – an abrupt about-turn which triggered accusations of a cover up.

Roni Aharoni, whose son Yehonatan was seriously wounded in the incident, told Arutz Sheva his son had told him in hospital immediately after the attack that he was certain the driver had aimed for them – and that he even sped up as he veered towards the group.

Aharoni accused political leaders of trying to cover up the incident in an attempt to deflect public criticism over spiraling Arab violence.

The IDF’s flip-flopping over the incident is likely to fuel speculation of a cover-up.