Israeli settler and Palestinian driver killed in West Bank shootings

Violence erupted in the occupied West Bank on Sunday after a suspected Palestinian gunman opened fire from a vehicle at Israelis gathered near a spring close to the settlement of Neve Tzuf, near Ramallah, according to Israeli police and military sources.

Medics who reached the scene found a man in a car with critical gunshot wounds; he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The suspected shooter was located and arrested several hours afterward at a hospital in Ramallah.

Shortly after that attack, the Israeli military said its forces had killed a Palestinian driver who attempted a ramming attack on soldiers near the settlement of Ganim, further north in the West Bank. No soldiers were reported injured in that incident.

It remains unclear whether the two fatal incidents, which took place on the eve of the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, were connected in any way.

Netanyahu orders reinforcement

Following the incidents, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed security agencies to increase their forces in the area and carry out arrests and offensive operations. The Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the shooting attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The period has seen a marked rise in attacks by militant Israeli settlers against Palestinians, alongside extensive Israeli military raids and Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis.