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4 killed in shooting at Israeli West Bank settlement

June 20, 2023

Israel has said four civilians were killed and that two attackers had been "neutralized." Militant group Hamas has claimed the attack was in response to a raid the previous day.

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Members of Zaka Rescue and Recovery team, work next to a body of a victim at the scene of a Palestinian shooting attack near the West Bank Israeli settlement of Eli
Israeli emergency services said four people were killed at an Israeli settlement in the West BankImage: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP/picture alliance

A shooting at an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday left four people dead and another four injured, Israeli Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services said.

The incident took place near a gas station in the Eli settlement, to the south of the Palestinian city of Nablus.

The Israeli military said a suspected Palestinian attacker had opened fire at civilians.

According to the Israeli military, one of the suspected Palestinian attackers was "neutralized" on the spot, although it was initially unclear whether he was killed.

Palestinian officials could also not confirm the death of the first man but said a second had been "shot by the Israeli occupation" in the nearby town of Tubas.

The Israeli military said security forces had pursued the second man who had fled the scene in a stolen car.

What did Hamas and Netanyahu say about the shooting?

The shooting near Nablus comes a day after Israeli forces launched a raid on the city of Jenin — another major city in the West Bank — in which six Palestinians were killed.

The hourslong raid left more than 90 Palestinians wounded, health officials said, while the Israeli military said at least 7 security personnel were also wounded.

A spokesperson for the militant group Hamas said that the shooting on Tuesday had been a "response to the crimes of the [Israeli] occupation" in Jenin and elsewhere.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were "working on the ground in order to settle accounts with the murderers."

Netanyahu's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a full-scale military operation in the West Bank and urged Jewish settlers to carry weapons.

Palestinian officials said Israeli troops also killed a 20-year-old Palestinian near the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Monday night.

ab/jcg (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)