Israeli Military Hunts For Shooting In West Bank, PM Netanyahu: Nothing Escapes

Israeli troops at the scene of the shooting of the West Bank. (Source: Magen David Adom)

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would drag all the perpetrators and supporters of the shooting in the West Bank that killed three Israelis as the country's military hunt down the perpetrators.

Three Israelis were killed and eight others injured in a shooting attack on a car and bus near the city of Kedumim, Israel's occupied 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.

Condolences to the victim's family, PM Netanyahu promised to hunt down the perpetrators.

"We will reach out to heinous killers and bring them to court, along with everyone who helps them," he said.

"No one will escape," he said.

The shooting attack, which targeted a bus and two cars, took place inside the Palestinian village of al-Funduq, which crosses the main highway used by thousands of Israelis and Palestinian drivers every day.

It happened along Route 55, a east-west highway crossing the West Bank and connecting the northwestern region of Tel Aviv to the Nablus outskirts, passing near or through Israeli settlements and Palestinian cities.

The military said it had launched a hunt for the gunmen.

At least two Palestinian terrorists opened fire on two Israeli cars and a bus traveling along the highway as they passed through the village, military sources said.

Two women in their 60s who were in one of the cars were declared dead at the scene, along with a man in his 40s who was in a second car, about 150 meters (490 feet) away, Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service said.

At least eight people on the bus were injured in the attack, including the driver, 63, who was rushed to hospital in serious condition, MDA said.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had sent large numbers of troops, as well as Israeli Air Force helicopters, to search for terrorists.

CCTV footage published by public broadcaster Kan Israel showed a man emerging from the side of a white sedan passenger who stopped on the road and pointed a gun at the passing bus. The man appeared to have continued to fire for several seconds before returning to the car, which then moved away from the scene.

Soldiers said they made a road blockade near the site of the attack and put a blockade around the city of Nablus and several other nearby villages.

Israeli Defense Minister Katz ordered the military to "use strong force against any place that traces the killers."

"Anyone who follows in the footsteps of Hamas in Gaza and sponsors the murder and torture of Jews will pay a heavy price," he stressed.