One Israeli dead, two wounded in West Bank shooting, say medics

Doctors say shooting occurred near the Shavei Shomron settlement in the northern West Bank

Israeli border police keep guard as bulldozers demolish a Palestinian building in the neighbourhood of Sur Baher, in East Jerusalem. Reuters
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An Israeli man was killed and two wounded Thursday when their car came under gunfire near a settlement in the Israel-occupied West Bank, medics said.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said medics unsuccessfully tried to revive a passenger who was unconscious in the car's back seat after being shot.

"Paramedics had to pronounce his death on the way to the hospital," Magen David Adom said, adding that two other men who were in the car suffered "mild" injuries from glass shards and were taken to hospital.

Medics said the shooting occurred near the Shavei Shomron settlement, in the northern West Bank near the city of Nablus.

The Israeli army said troops were searching the area for suspects.

Israeli soldiers blocked entrances to Nablus after the attack, with hundreds of Palestinian drivers stuck on the roads, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett denounced the "horrific" attack.

"Security forces will get their hands on the terrorists very soon and we'll ensure that justice is served," Mr Bennett said.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz extended his condolences "to the family of the terror victim".

"We will increase our vigilance and readiness to thwart terror ... and will continue to take any measures necessary in facing terror groups in the area."

The shooting follows a string of attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Last week, Israeli police arrested a Palestinian girl, 14, on suspicion of stabbing her neighbour, who was a Jewish resident of a settlement in a contested neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Israel's ideologically divided coalition government is also facing internal tension over violence inflicted by settlers on Palestinians.

Rights groups say those attacks have increased, with few consequences for the perpetrators.

On Monday, the Minister of Public Security, Omer Barlev, said he had discussed "settler violence and how to reduce tensions in the area and strengthen the Palestinian Authority" in a meeting with the US undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland.

Israel seized the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Since then, nearly 700,000 Israelis have moved into settlements that most of the international community regard as illegal.

Palestinians want the territories as part of their future state. Israeli hardliners, including Mr Bennett, oppose Palestinian statehood.

Updated: December 16, 2021, 11:04 PM