2 hurt in shooting attack near Nablus
Gunmen open fire at vehicle near Hawara roadblock; two Israelis sustain light to moderate wounds. Meanwhile, troops apprehend 5 wanted suspects in Jenin operation
Army forces and Magen David Adom ambulance service teams were dispatched to the area. Security officials estimate the gunmen ambushed the vehicle and opened fire at it, wounding the two.
The Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. IDF forces are scouring the area in search of the shooters.
The Israeli vehicle left from the town of Ariel with two passengers and picked up another passenger at the Tapuach junction before continuing in the direction of Hawara. The two wounded Israelis have been identified as security guards at one of the northern West Bank communities. They were taken for treatment at Beilinson hospital in Petach Tikva.
One man sustained wounds to his jaw while the other was hurt by shrapnel.
A vehicle was also attacked in the same area Wednesday, but no injuries were reported in that shooting attack.
Thursday morning's shooting attack "is yet another testament to the impotence of the local military establishment, Yitzhar settlement Spokesman Yigal Amitai says.
The defense establishment focuses "on the media instead of security and deals with bad-mouthing settlers instead of capturing wanted suspects," he said.
At the beginning of the month, one Israeli was murdered and another one sustained serious wounds in two separate shooting attacks in one day in the northern West Bank.
In one of the attacks, a man was shot to death at a gas station. A day later, a truck driver was stabbed by an Arab and sustained light to moderate wounds at the Atarot industrial zone near Jerusalem.
Army operating in Jenin
Meanwhile, four wanted Palestinian suspects barricaded inside a house in Jenin turned themselves in to IDF troops after a siege on the building they were hiding in. An IDF soldier was killed during the operation.
A gunman who attempted to flee the house during the operation was also apprehended and all five men were taken in for questioning by security forces.
Three of the suspects detained by the IDF are members of the Islamic Jihad and the fourth one belongs to the Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Ynet learned. Exchanges of fire took place in the area while the arrest was taking place.
Troops entered Jenin and the nearby refugee camp overnight in order to carry out arrests. The forces encircled the home based on intelligence information.
IDF soldiers have been operating in Jenin and nearby villages since Sunday in an effort to detain members of Islamic Jihad and Tanzim members said to be preparing attacks in Israel slated to be carried out in the coming days.
Also overnight, troops detained 15 wanted Palestinian terror suspects, including members of Hamas, Tanzim, and Fatah.
Ali Waked contributed to the story
