2 Israeli soldiers killed in West Bank shooting
Two Israeli were killed and two other wounded in a drive-by shooting near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, according to the Israeli military.
In a statement, the army said a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis at Asaf Junction, north of Jerusalem.
The army said it has launched a manhunt for the attacker, who fled the scene unscathed.
hours before, Israeli forces have martyred three Palestinians in raids in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli authorities on Thursday.
In a statement, the army said a Palestinian being sought over an alleged drive-by shooting near the West Bank settlement of Ofra was killed.
The army identified the Palestinian as 29-year-old Saleh Omar Barghouti from Kobar village in the West Bank.
It said four others reportedly responsible for the attack were also arrested.
On Dec. 9, six Israelis were injured in a shooting attack at a bus stop near Ofra.
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency also said another Palestinian was shot dead in Askar refugee camp in Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Israeli authorities accuse Ashraf Nawla of carrying out a shooting attack in Burkan settlement near Nablus, in which two Israeli settlers were killed in October.
In a statement, the Shin Bet said Nawla was killed in an exchange of fire during an attempt to arrest him.
Israeli forces also martyred another Palestinian for allegedly stabbing two police officers in the occupied East Jerusalem.
Tension has been running high in the occupied Palestinian territories since last year when U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — now occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
