Bus driver lightly hurt in suspected West Bank terror shooting

An Israeli bus driver was lightly injured Saturday night in a shooting attack near the settlement of Beit El in the central West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces said.

In a statement, the army said that soldiers were searching the area for suspects in the attack, which also damaged the bus.

The central West Bank has seen a surge in terror activities in recent weeks, including two shooting attacks that claimed the lives of three people.

Overnight Friday, security forces overnight arrested a Palestinian man whose two brothers have been implicated in the two recent terror shootings, according to Palestinian media.

Mohammad Barghouti, 17, was detained by troops in Kobar, a village near Ramallah, the reports said.

Israeli defense officials have said Mohammad’s brother Asem is suspected of carrying out a terror attack on December 13 near the Givat Assaf outpost in the central West Bank that killed two soldiers and wounded a soldier and a civilian woman.

Another brother, Salih, was shot dead on December 12 in Kobar as he attacked Israeli security forces in an attempt to evade arrest. He was suspected of having carried out a drive-by shooting attack near the Ofra settlement three days earlier, on December 9.

Seven people were wounded in that attack, including a 30-weeks pregnant woman who was seriously injured. Her baby was delivered in an emergency operation, but died days later.