An Israeli soldier was slightly injured after shots were fired at a military checkpoint in the northern West Bank on Sunday night, the military and medics said, hours after a shootout injured another nearby.
The Israel Defense Forces said the attack, which wounded one soldier, was aimed at both Israeli civilians and soldiers near Nablus.
The soldier was shot in the leg on a road between the settlement of Itamar and the Samaria regional brigade base, according to the SSF rescue service.
The Samaria Regional Council said the attack came at the end of a demonstration it had been holding in the area, after another shootout on Sunday morning when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on several Israeli vehicles near the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh drove.
Footage released by the council showed its chairman Yossi Dagan and several other Israelis – including children – taking cover behind vehicles as gunfire rang out in the area.
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The IDF said troops returned fire at the source of the gunfire and launched a manhunt for the shooters.
The wounded soldier was taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva by ambulance, the EMS said.
מחילופי האש בשומרון pic.twitter.com/zAa0t1FwlB
— מנדי ריזל (@mendi_rizel) October 2, 2022
A taxi driver was slightly injured in Sunday morning’s shooting and a bus driver reported his vehicle’s windshield was damaged.
Hours later, a 24-year-old Israeli was slightly injured when Palestinians hurled rocks at his vehicle, near where the shooting took place, medics said.
After the shooting and stone throwing, troops were deployed in the area.
A Palestinian armed group calling itself the “Lion’s Den” claimed responsibility for both shootings in separate statements.
A taxi apparently struck by gunfire on a West Bank road on October 2, 2022. (Samaria Regional Council)
The group – based in the old city of Nablus – was formed in recent months by members of various terrorist groups. Some of its members were apparently previously linked to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
She has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in the northern West Bank in recent weeks.
According to public broadcaster Kan, police feared the group might try to carry out attacks in Israel itself, instead of continuing to focus on the Nablus area of the West Bank.
The shooting came amid a spate of violence in the West Bank.
Later Sunday, Palestinian gunmen fired volleys into the air in Hebron that local officials said were aimed at the settlement of Kiryat Arba.
And in another incident, a 25-year-old pregnant Israeli woman was slightly injured after Palestinians hurled rocks at her vehicle on Route 3157 near the Gush Eztion settlement block. Magen David Adom’s emergency services said they were taking her to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem with injuries to her face.
קרית ארבע תיעוד מפיגוע הירי לכיוון שכונת החרסינה, ב”ה ללא נפגעים pic.twitter.com/zg8aiy4LlZ
– News (@1717Bazz) October 2, 2022
Palestinian gunmen have attacked military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the streets in recent months.
Israel Defense Forces and police have been on heightened alert since the start of the Jewish holiday season last week, amid tensions already surging over an Israeli counter-terrorist offensive that has killed over 100 Palestinians and arrested more than 2,000 in late-night raids high are west banks.
Israeli troops have also come under repeated fire during night raids on Palestinian towns in the West Bank.
The military launched arrest operations after a series of attacks that left 19 dead between mid-March and early May.
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