IDF: Shots fired at troops along northern West Bank barrier; no injuries

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Israeli troops operating along the northern West Bank security barrier on Tuesday night, without causing any injuries, the military said.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the gunmen opened fire from a passing vehicle at troops operating between the Palestinian village of Faqqua and the Israeli town of Ma’ale Gilboa.

The military said the troops returned fire at the gunmen as they fled. No Israeli soldiers were hurt in the attack.

It was unclear if the troops’ gunfire hit the fleeing gunmen. The military said it had launched a manhunt for the suspects.

The shooting came at a time of rising violence in the West Bank, particularly in the northern region, as Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.

However, the number of shootings has decreased in recent weeks, following major gains by the IDF against the Nablus-based Lion’s Den terror group, which had claimed responsibility for near-nightly shooting attacks.

The IDF meanwhile has pressed on with an anti-terror offensive in the West Bank.

The operation has made more than 2,000 arrests in near-nightly raids, but has also left over 125 Palestinians dead, many of them — but not all — while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces.

The anti-terror offensive in the West Bank was launched following a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 people in the spring of this year.

An Israeli man was killed in an attack in Hebron last month, a woman was killed in Holon in a suspected attack in September, and four soldiers have been killed in the West Bank in attacks and during the arrest operations.

On Tuesday, a man died from wounds he sustained in a stabbing attack in a Palestinian village in October.