Three injured in West Bank drive-by shooting

Israeli+soldiers+and+police+investigate+the+scene+of+an+alleged+car-+ramming+attack+in+the+West+Bank%2C+Sept.+2%2C+2020.+%28Sraya+Diamant%2FFlash90%29

Israeli soldiers and police investigate the scene of an alleged car- ramming attack in the West Bank, Sept. 2, 2020. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

(JTA) — Assailants opened fire on Israeli civilians, wounding three in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday reported the shooting, at Tapuach Junction in the northern West Bank, and said its forces were in pursuit.

Haaretz reported that all three were 19 years old, and one was in critical condition. It said the three were students at a yeshiva in Itamar.

“The security forces are in pursuit of the terrorists and I am certain that they will apprehend them as soon as possible,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will not allow terrorism to raise its head and we will strike our enemies with force.”

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Haaretz reported that Hamas and Islamic Jihad “welcomed” it.

Separately, the IDF also reported that troops had neutralized an assailant who attempted to stab soldiers at Gush Etzion junction near Bethlehem.

Haaretz named the assailant as Fahima al-Kharub, a 60-year old woman, who was shot by the troops after warnings as she approached them with a knife, and who died later at a hospital.

The newspaper quoted al-Kharib’s relatives as saying that she was mentally ill.