Soldier hurt in West Bank shooting, in third attack of day

At least one soldier was lightly wounded in a shooting along a highway in the central West Bank on Thursday, the third attack on Israeli security forces of the day, the military said.

The soldier was hospitalized with light injuries to his head, according to authorities.

The attack came amid a significant spike in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, with a pair of attacks on security forces in Jerusalem, a deadly clash in Jenin, and continuing launches of projectiles and incendiary devices from Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces said a gunman opened fire at a group of soldiers who were stationed near the Parsa Junction outside the Dolev settlement, northwest of Ramallah on Thursday afternoon.

The troops opened fire at the suspect and launched a manhunt to find him.

Israeli troops search for a gunman who opened fire at an IDF soldier, lightly injuring him, near the central West Bank settlement of Dolev on February 6, 2020. (Israel Defense Forces)

“A terrorist shot at IDF troops were in the area. An IDF soldier was lightly injured from the gunfire and was taken to the hospital for treatment,” the military said.

“IDF soldiers responded with gunfire at the terrorist and began searching for him.”

The soldier sustained a light wound to the head, with the bullet only grazing him, and was fully conscious, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

The soldier was taken to the Sheba Medical Center in the central Israeli city of Ramat Gan for treatment.

Medics at the scene of a suspected car-ramming attack in Jerusalem on February 6, 2020 (MDA)

The reported drive-by shooting appeared to be Thursday’s third attack on Israeli troops, following a predawn car-ramming that injured 12 in Jerusalem and a shooting attack near the entrance to the Temple Mount in which a Border Police officer was lightly wounded.

Thursday also saw significant clashes in Jenin during the demolition of a terrorist’s home, in which a Palestinian police officer and a Palestinian police cadet were killed under unclear circumstances.

Tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem have been heightened over the past week, following the release of US President Donald Trump’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last Tuesday. The Palestinian Authority immediately rejected the proposal, which was widely seen as being overwhelmingly favored toward Israel.

In the week and a half since the plan’s release, the military has noted a significant increase in violence in the West Bank, with regular riots, rock-throwing and violent opposition to Israeli arrest raids.

On Wednesday, a Palestinian teenager was also shot dead by Israeli troops as he threw a Molotov cocktail at them in Hebron, the military said.