Current:Home > Back2 Israelis killed at West Bank car wash as Israeli-Palestinian violence surges-LoTradeCoin
2 Israelis killed at West Bank car wash as Israeli-Palestinian violence surges
View Date:2024-12-23 19:02:59
Hawara, West Bank — Two Israelis were killed in a suspected Palestinian shooting attack on a car wash in a volatile stretch of the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the latest outburst of violence to rock the region.
The Israeli military said it was searching for suspects and setting up roadblocks near the town of Hawara, a flashpoint area in the northern West Bank, which has seen repeated shooting attacks as well as a rampage by Jewish West Bank settlers who torched Palestinian property.
The shooting attack came after Palestinian official media said a 19-year-old Palestinian died of his wounds following an Israeli military raid into the West Bank on Wednesday.
The deaths are part of a relentless spiral of violence that has fueled the worst fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank in nearly two decades. Nearly 180 Palestinians have been killed since the start of this year and some 29 people have been killed by Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Israeli paramedics said that when they arrived at the scene at the car wash in Hawara, two Israeli males, aged 60 and 29, were found unconscious with gunshot wounds.
Videos circulating online showed Israeli soldiers walking across a large pool of blood at the car wash to help move two bodies on stretchers to awaiting ambulances.
The IDF said soldiers are pursuing the suspects and have set up blockades in the area, CBS News confirmed. The IDF has also closed entry and exit to Hawara.
Several Israelis have been killed in Hawara in the current round of fighting and the death of two brothers, residents of a nearby settlement, set off a rampage by settlers through the town in February. They torched dozens of cars and homes in some of the worst settler violence in decades.
Similar settler mob violence has taken place elsewhere in the West Bank since. Israeli rights groups say settler violence has worsened and that radical settlers have become emboldened because their cause has supporters in important government positions.
The violence in the area has prompted promises of a harsh response from members of Israel's far-right government. After a recent rampage in Hawara, Smotrich called for the Israeli government to "wipe out" the Palestinian village. His remarks brought a stark rebuke from U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price, who called them "irresponsible, disgusting and repugnant."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is composed of ultranationalist members who have demanded a harder line against the rising tide of Palestinian violence. Saturday's attack is likely to intensify those demands.
Palestinian militant groups praised the shooting attack, with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine posting statements online congratulating the perpetrators. Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Qanou called the attack a "heroic shooting operation."
But the groups stopped short of claiming responsibility for the attack.
In the death of the Palestinian on Saturday, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, Mohammad Abu Asab, 19, was shot in the head on Wednesday during an Israeli army incursion into the Balata refugee camp near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. It cited medical officials.
The Israeli military said in its statement Wednesday that a commando unit raided Balata seeking to destroy an underground weapons factory when a gunfight erupted.
Wafa reported that during the fighting, Abu Asab was shot in the head and then taken to the Rafidia hospital in Nablus where he later died from his wounds. Palestinian health officials did not immediately confirm the death.
It was not immediately clear if Abu Asab was affiliated with a militant group and he wasn't immediately claimed as a member by any group.
Israel has been staging near-nightly raids since last spring in response to a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks.
Israeli says most of the Palestinians killed were militants. But stone throwing youths protesting the incursions and those not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.
Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see the violence as a natural response to 56 years of occupation, including stepped-up settlement construction by Israel's government and increased violence by Jewish settlers.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Some 700,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, while Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.
- In:
- Palestine
- Israel
- Middle East
- West Bank
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Mandy Moore Captures the Holiday Vibe With These No Brainer Gifts & Stocking Stuffer Must-Haves
- Marvel mania is over: How the comic book super-franchise started to unravel in 2023
- New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of US House
- Attacks on health care are on track to hit a record high in 2023. Can it be stopped?
- Human head washes ashore on Florida beach, police investigating: reports
- Teen fatally shot as he drove away from Facebook Marketplace meetup: Reports
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 15 players to start or sit in Week 15
- TikTok users were shocked to see UPS driver's paycheck. Here's how much drivers will soon be making.
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- North Carolina officer who repeatedly struck woman during arrest gets 40-hour suspension
Ranking
- November 2024 full moon this week is a super moon and the beaver moon
- Quarter of world's freshwater fish species at risk of extinction, researchers warn
- Live Your Best Life With Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s 12 Days of Pooshmas Holiday Mailer
- China-made C919, ARJ21 passenger jets on display in Hong Kong
- Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
- Wall Street calls them 'the Magnificent 7': They're the reason why stocks are surging
- New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is sworn in with his government
- For The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift takes a lucrative and satisfying victory lap
Recommendation
-
Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes is convicted of producing images of child sex abuse
-
North Korean and Russian officials discuss economic ties as Seoul raises labor export concerns
-
Judge rejects delay of ruling backing North Dakota tribes’ effort to change legislative boundaries
-
Hilary Duff announces she's pregnant with baby No. 4: 'Buckle up buttercups'
-
Brian Austin Green’s Fiancée Sharna Burgess Celebrates Megan Fox’s Pregnancy News
-
Dassault Falcon Jet announces $100 million expansion in Little Rock, including 800 more jobs
-
Two beloved Christmas classics just joined the National Film Registry
-
College football bowl game opt-outs: Who's skipping bowls games to prepare for NFL draft?