Seven wounded in shooting on Israeli bus in West Bank

Tubas – Gunmen wounded six Israeli soldiers and a civilian on Sunday when they sprayed bullets at a bus in the occupied West Bank, the army said.

The attack in the Jordan Valley, near the city of Tubas, comes amid a spate of violence in the West Bank in recent days and a shooting spree last month targeting an Israeli bus in annexed east Jerusalem.

It also follows months of often deadly Israeli army raids in the West Bank, many targeting Palestinian militants in the Nablus and Jenin areas — both near Tubas.

Two suspects were arrested soon after Sunday’s attack near the burnt-out remains of the vehicle they were thought to have used, and guns were found lying on the dirt road nearby. The bus’s windscreen was peppered with dozens of bullet holes and a side window was smashed.

The Israeli military said one soldier was seriously wounded and five others and a civilian suffered lighter injuries.

Matti Carmi, from the Magen David Adom emergency medical services, said “two gunshots victims” were treated outside the bus.

The two were both conscious and were airlifted to hospital in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa.

Three others wounded by flying glass were transported to another hospital in northern Israel, the MDA said.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz said security forces “immediately went in pursuit and got their hands on suspects in the attack”.

The army said security forces were “continuing the searches” after two armed suspects were detained.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid praised rescue and security forces “who acted swiftly and with determination” to treat casualties and apprehended the suspects. 

“We will continue to put our hands on anyone who tries to inflict harm on Israeli civilians and soldiers,” he said on Twitter.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the shooting as a “heroic” operation.

– Week of violence –

On a dirt road near the bus, Israeli security forces surrounded a torched pickup truck reportedly belonging to the attackers.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.

The attack follows a shooting spree last month targeting an Israeli bus in annexed east Jerusalem.

Eight people, including several US citizens, were wounded in the pre-dawn attack near the Old City of Jerusalem. Following an hours-long manhunt, police said a suspect had handed himself in.

It also follows a spate of violent incidents in recent days in the West Bank.

On Friday, a Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and wounding an Israeli soldier at an army post near the flashpoint city of Hebron, the Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said.

A day earlier, two Palestinians were killed by Palestinian fire during separate clashes with the Israeli army, one near Nablus and another near Ramallah, Palestinian sources said.

On Tuesday, four Palestinians and two Israelis were wounded in separate incidents near Nablus, the largest city in the northern West Bank.

Israel has controlled east Jerusalem and the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War when it seized the territories from Jordan.

Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have been frozen for years.