Three people were killed and eight others injured, one seriously, in a terror attack on Monday near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim. Gunfire was directed at a bus and private vehicles from a passing car.
Security forces rushed to the scene, launching a manhunt for the attackers, believed to be a two-person terror squad. Officials said the assailants parked on the roadside before one stepped out to open fire, targeting the bus and nearby cars before fleeing.
West Bank shooting attack on Monday
The victims included two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s, all killed in their private vehicles. The bus driver was reported in serious condition. The attack occurred on a main road used by both Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents, east of Qalqilya.
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In response, Israeli forces set up roadblocks and conducted searches in nearby Palestinian villages.
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IDF forces on manhunt for terrorists after fatal shooting attack on Monday
(Photo: IDF)
5 View gallery
IDF forces on manhunt for terrorists after fatal shooting attack on Monday
(Photo: Elisha Ben Kimon)
5 View gallery
Security forces on the scene of a deadly terror attack near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim on Monday
(Photo: MDA)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, vowing that the perpetrators would be captured and brought to justice.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a resident of Kedumim, called for a reassessment of West Bank counterterrorism policies, likening the violence to threats from Gaza and Iran. "Anyone relying on the Palestinian Authority for Israeli security must face the reality of terrorists massacring Jewish residents," Smotrich said, adding that "Jenin and Nablus must resemble Jabaliya in Gaza."
He urged an emergency Cabinet meeting to address a strategic shift in combating West Bank terrorism.