One Israeli hiker was killed and two others were wounded Friday in a shooting near the Palestinian West Bank village of Tell, southwest of Nablus, after a confrontation between a group of Israelis and Palestinians.
The IDF said it was investigating the incident as a suspected terrorist attack.
Israelis and Palestinians clash near Nablus, West Bank
According to Israeli accounts, the group was hiking in the area and clashed with Palestinians near a mosque on the outskirts of the village.
An armed civilian security coordinator from the nearby settlement outpost of Havat Gilad then arrived at the scene.
The Israelis alleged that one of the Palestinians snatched the security coordinator's weapon and opened fire on the Israeli civilians, killing one man and wounding two others.
The military initially reported a shooting near Havat Gilad and said the stolen weapon was later recovered.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said paramedics pronounced a man in his 30s dead at the scene. Two other victims were airlifted by military helicopter to hospital, including a man in his 20s in serious condition and another man in his mid-20s in moderate condition.
Senior Magen David Adom medic Aviel Mamalia said emergency crews arrived with ambulances and bulletproof intensive care vehicles after receiving reports of a shooting attack near Havat Gilad.
"We treated a 25-year-old man who was fully conscious and suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper body," Mamalia said. "He was evacuated to a military helicopter in stable condition."
First responders arrive at the scene
(Photo: Magen David Adom)
Mamalia said medics later joined an IDF medical team treating another victim who was unconscious and had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
"After prolonged resuscitation efforts, we were forced to pronounce him dead," he said.
The military said additional forces were being deployed and imposed a security cordon around the village of Tell and at several entrances to the nearby city of Nablus as troops searched for those involved.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed by IDF fire during the incident and four others were wounded, including three listed in critical condition. The military did not immediately comment on those reports.
The shooting was the third violent incident in the area within 24 hours.
On Thursday, Itamar Cohen, one of the founders of several Israeli agricultural outposts in the West Bank, was stabbed near the settlement of Elon Moreh. The military said a fire had broken out nearby and Cohen was among those attempting to extinguish it when the attack occurred. An armed civilian shot and killed the two terrorists at the scene.
Hours later, another person was wounded in a separate stabbing attack in the northern West Bank before Israeli forces shot and killed the assailant.