Israeli woman shot dead in West Bank attack
Members of Israeli security forces and emergency services stand at the site of a reported attack south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank
Hebron – An Israeli woman was shot dead and another man wounded in a suspected shooting attack Monday near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, medics and the army said.
The incident comes two days after an Israeli father and son were gunned down at a car wash in the town of Huwara, also in the West Bank, amid rising violence in the territory.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said in a statement that a woman was “confirmed dead” after she was hit by gunfire.
It added the man travelling with her was in a “serious condition”.
The army, confirming the death of the 40-year-old woman, said the two civilians came under fire when they were driving.
The “shooting attack was carried out from a passing vehicle on Route 60 adjacent to the city of Hebron toward civilians who were driving in the area,” it said in a statement, adding that troops were pursuing the attackers.
The army deployed troops to the attack site and blocked access to it soon after the incident, an AFP correspondent reported.
– Surging violence –
The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since early last year, with a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, repeated Israeli army raids and violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinian communities.
Saturday’s shooting of a father and son in Huwara sparked a massive manhunt in the West Bank as Israeli forces searched for the suspected attacker.
Huwara, a Palestinian town near the city of Nablus, has seen a number of attacks on Jewish settlers or the Israeli military since early last year.
Settlers have also responded with revenge attacks on the town and surrounding villages.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said Monday’s attack near Hebron was a “natural response” to settlement projects in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“The operations will continue until the end of the occupation,” it said in a statement.
At least 218 Palestinians have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year.
Some 31 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have also been killed, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.
They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.
Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is home to nearly three million Palestinians and around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.