Three Israelis were killed and at least eight wounded in a shooting attack on a bus and two other vehicles in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning, the latest in a round of deadly violence in the territory.
Two women in their sixties and a man, about 40, were killed, Israeli ambulance service said. Paramedics said they provided treatment to eight people, including the driver of the bus, who was critically wounded. Militant activity, settler violence and an economic crisis have spiralled in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war began.
All three vehicles had Israeli licence plates. The Israeli army said it was “setting up roadblocks and encircling several towns in the area”, to search for two suspected attackers who fled.
The shooting took place on Route 55 in the Palestinian village of Al Funduq, which is close to the illegal settlements of Kedumim and Karnei Shomron. Unlike most roads used by settlers in the region, the section on which the attack took place does not bypass Palestinian urban areas. There are plans to build a detour route around the village, although construction has not yet begun.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to the families of those killed and pledged that Israel “will reach the abominable murderers”.
In response to the attack, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who lives on Kedumim, said Al Funduq, along with the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, should look like Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, which has been largely destroyed after months of Israeli bombardment and military assaults. Mr Smotrich has previously called for the destruction of Palestinian towns after attacks.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Israel to stop engaging with the Palestinian Authority, the body that administers some Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
“The Palestinian Authority sponsors terrorism and therefore all collaboration with it should be stopped,” he said, referring to a long-held stance among some in Israel that the PA encourages violence against Israelis. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Hamas described it as a “heroic response”.
