BICOM

Four Israeli men in their 20s were injured last night, one seriously after the car they were travelling in came under gunfire in the West Bank.

The attack happened late last night as the four men were travelling back from a basketball game and were near the settlement of Shilo, north of Ramallah. All of the victims were transported to Jerusalem hospitals for treatment. Israeli security forces said it was unclear whether the car had been attacked from a moving vehicle or a roadside ambush. Large numbers of IDF soldiers, including members of the elite Duvdevan unit were deployed in the area and roadblocks were set up to help apprehend the perpetrators. However, no suspects have yet been found and no group has taken responsibility for the attack.

Acting Samaria Regional Council head, Yossi Dagan said after the attack, “Recently we’ve been witnessing a concerning increase in serious terror attacks… We must stop this phenomenon before things deteriorate further… The term ‘trickle’ with regards to terrorism is a lie. We are not willing to get used to this situation.”

Meanwhile, yesterday morning a female Israeli soldier was stabbed in the neck by a Palestinian woman. The attack took place at a checkpoint near Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. The attacker was named as 20-year-old Misoun Mussa from Bethlehem. She is thought to have acted alone, but was found to be in possession of a number of knives and when questioned declared her intent to kill an Israeli soldier.

Yesterday’s incidents are the latest in a number of terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem in recent weeks. Earlier this month, 25-year-old Danny Gonen from the central city of Lod was shot and killed by a gunman as he returned from hiking with a friend near the West Bank settlement of Dolev. Two days later, at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City, an 18-year-old Palestinian stabbed a border policeman, who was able to shoot his attacker. Both were critically injured.