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IDF soldiers detained several Palestinians from the West Bank village of Aqraba near Nablus on Monday night, suspecting them of providing assistance to assailants who shot and injured three in a drive-by attack near the settlement of Itamar on Sunday.
Three 19-year-old students from the Itamar Yeshiva were injured in the attack. Two of them remain hospitalized in serious and critical condition.
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IDF forces at the scene of the drive-by shooting attack on the West Bank on Sunday
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
The third victim, who was slightly injured in the attack, was released from the hospital on Monday.
Palestinian security forces located an abandoned car that the IDF believes was used in the attack, with its rear window punctured by bullets, in Aqraba on Monday . The vehicle was torched by Palestinians, before its could be taken by the IDF for examination.
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Palestinians detained by IDF in Aqraba overnight
The manhunt for the terror squad continued on Tuesday with the assistance of the Shin Bet Security Agency focusing on intelligence gathering.
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The torched vehicle believed used by assailants in shooting attack on West Bank Sunday
(Photo: EPA)
Security officials say the believe local Palestinian residents were assisting the suspected terrorists who were evading capture.
On Monday, Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi visited the site of the attack.
"The IDF will reinforce its forces and expand its operational activities in the West Bank in the coming weeks,” Kochavi said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, vowed there would be a harsh response.
“We will not allow terrorism to raise its head and we will strike our enemies with force,” he said.