Soldiers thwart attempted attack near Bethlehem

A Palestinian car attempted to hit IDF soldiers stationed near Bethlehem, the army said in a statement Wednesday evening.

The troops opened fire at the car, and were said to detect a hit. No soldiers were reported injured in the incident.

The IDF said it was scouring the area to track down the culprits, who fled from the scene.

The thwarted hit-and-run occurred as the army wrapped up its sixth day of a massive crackdown in the West Bank on Hamas personnel, in an effort to locate kidnapped teens Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frankel, and Gil-ad Shaar.

At around the same time Wednesday night, two rockets were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. One scored a rare hit on a home in the Sha’ar Hanegev region, causing damage but no injuries.

The second landed in an open area.

On Sunday night, travelers in a car opened fire at an Israeli military position in the same area near southern Jerusalem. No injuries were reported in that incident and the culprits escaped.