Three Israelis Killed In Shooting Attack In West Bank, Netanyahu Furious

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu/PHOTO via Instagram @gpoisrael

JAKARTA - Three Israelis were killed and several others injured in shooting attacks on cars and buses near the Israeli-occupied city of Kedumim in the West Bank.

Israeli Army Radio said the military imposed guard on all villages in the region to search for suspects, who are believed to have fled to nearby villages in Palestine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to bring the perpetrators and anyone who helped them to justice.

"No one will survive," he wrote on X.

There has been no immediate comment from the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank. Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and is present in the West Bank, praised the attack as "a heroic response to the continuing occupational crimes (including) the genocide war in Gaza".

But Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated, with hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis killed since the Hamas militant attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel that sparked war in Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to "act decisively" in response to the attack, and said anyone who followed in the footsteps of Hamas in Gaza "will pay a heavy price".

Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called for an urgent cabinet meeting.

Israel's national ambulance service Magen David Adom (MDA) said two women in their 60s and a man aged about 40 were declared dead at the scene. Seven passengers were injured, including a 63-year-old male bus driver who was in serious condition.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled in the West Bank since Israel seized the territory in the 1967 war. Most countries consider the settlement illegal, although Israel denies this, citing historical and alkitabiah ties with the region.