Shots were fired at a bus carrying Israeli soldiers on a major highway in the Jordan Valley on Sunday, wounding seven people, the army and medics said.
The Israeli army said that Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the bus near the Hamra settlement, seriously wounding a soldier. Five other soldiers and The bus A civilian driver was slightly injured. The attack came amid escalating violence in the West Bank.
The seriously wounded soldier and the bus driver were flown by helicopter to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, and sustained gunshot wounds. The other five soldiers were wounded by shards of glass.
The gunmen fled the scene, but Israeli soldiers and police officers were arrested soon after, according to the IDF and Israeli police. Several firearms were found at the scene. The two men were taken for interrogation by the Shin Bet security service.
The militants’ escape vehicle caught fire as they fled, possibly from a flammable liquid they tried to pour onto the bus amid the attack, according to local officials. Both were said to have been injured.
A third suspect appears to have escaped, according to Hebrew-language media reports. The Israeli military said forces continued to search the area for additional suspects.
Weapons found at the site of a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley, September 4, 2022 (Israel Defense Forces)
Defense Minister Benny Gantz praised the troops for arresting the two suspects after the attack. “Security forces immediately launched a manhunt operation and arrested the suspects in the attack in a prompt and professional operation,” he said on Twitter.
תיעוד: רכב המחבלים הנמלט מתלקח ועולה באש pic.twitter.com/huNykjCX3V
— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) 4 September 2022
“We will continue to increase our concentrated operations against terrorism in the Judea and Samaria region,” he added, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
Gantz wished a speedy recovery to the wounded victims.
Israeli paramedics rush an injured man for treatment at Rambam Hospital in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, after a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley on September 4, 2022 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Prime Minister Yair Lapid also wished a speedy recovery to the soldiers and bus driver injured in the shooting attack, while praising first responders and troops for treating the wounded and quickly tracking down suspects.
“We will continue to reach out to anyone who tries to harm the citizens and soldiers of the State of Israel,” Lapid said in a statement.
It was said that the video is from the scene of the accident pic.twitter.com/GYWXgEfaJ5
- Emmanuel (Mane) Fabian (maniefabian) 4 September 2022
And last month, an Israeli bus traveling along Route 60, the main north-south highway in the West Bank, near the settlement of Ofra, was fired upon. The bus was full at the time of the attack and at least eight holes were found in the windows and body of the bus, but there were no injuries.
Tensions have risen in the West Bank recently, with Israeli security forces stepping up arrests and operations following a wave of deadly terrorist attacks that left 19 people dead earlier this year.
The past week alone has seen a number of attacks, with Palestinian gunmen shooting at several military sites across the West Bank, and stabbing a soldier near Hebron. There have also been numerous stone-throwing attacks on Israeli civilians driving in the West Bank.
