1 injured as Palestinian gunman opens fire at Israeli vehicles in West Bank
Military launches manhunt following shooting attack near Avnei Hefetz that reportedly targeted at least three cars
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Palestinian gunman opened fire at Israeli vehicles driving near the West Bank settlement of Avnei Hefetz on Tuesday, lightly injuring one, the military and medics said.
According to eyewitness accounts cited by medical services, the gunman exited a vehicle at the Shufa Junction — close to the Palestinian town of the same name — and fired toward three vehicles leaving the settlement in the northern West Bank.
A 39-year-old Israeli man traveling in one of the vehicles was lightly injured by glass shards, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said. He was taken to the Laniado Hospital in Netanya, where he was listed in good condition.
Security forces who arrived at the scene searched for the shooter and found ammunition casings, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said that two vehicles were damaged in the attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility and it was unclear if the attack was a response to the death hours earlier of a senior member of the Islamic Jihad terror group who had been on hunger strike while detained in an Israeli prison.
אחד הרכבים שנפגעו מפיגוע הירי. נס גדול! הפקרות אדירה! pic.twitter.com/AKF3gKAshJ
— תורת לחימה (@Torat_IDF) May 2, 2023
The military was already expected to ramp up operations in the West Bank in the coming weeks, as troops search for a number of Palestinian terrorists who carried out recent attacks.
The terror cell that killed Lucy Dee and her two daughters, Maia and Rina, in the Jordan Valley on April 7 has not yet been captured. Its members were thought to be hiding in the northern West Bank.
Troops were also searching for a Palestinian gunman who opened fire at Israeli joggers last week close to the West Bank town of Silwad, moderately wounding one; a gunman who wounded a soldier in Beit Ummar on April 5; the gunmen who shot and wounded two soldiers in Huwara on March 25; and a terror cell behind shooting attacks against the northern Israeli towns of Meirav and Ma’ale Gilboa on April 18 and April 3.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high for the past year, with the Israeli military conducting near-nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.
Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 19 people dead since the beginning of the year and several more seriously hurt.
At least 96 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, but some were uninvolved civilians and others were killed under circumstances that are being investigated.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
