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West Bank attack wounds 5 as Israel PM cancels events / Photo: HAZEM BADER - AFP
West Bank attack wounds 5 as Israel PM cancels events
An attack in the occupied West Bank wounded at least five Israelis on Friday and touched off a shootout that ended with two suspected Palestinian assailants dead, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel political events days ahead of elections.
An AFP journalist who witnessed the firefight saw two Palestinian men in casual attire and armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle exchanging fire with Israeli forces at a checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Hebron.
The journalist reported that Israeli forces eventually shot and killed the attackers, their two lifeless bodies on the ground next to a petrol station as Israeli troops patrolled in all directions.
The Israeli military said soldiers had rushed to the Judea Junction area, also known as the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint, after the early-morning shooting attack.
"IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers eliminated two terrorists and continue searches in the area," it said in a statement.
The initial shooting wounded five people, two of whom were in critical condition, said Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical rescue service.
The Magen David Adom said one of the victims was a man in his 20s in "very serious condition" with gunshot wounds.
Netanyahu, running for a new term in elections on Tuesday, called for all political meetings to be cancelled Friday due to the attack.
Israeli National Security Minister and far-right firebrand Itamar Ben Gvir, who has been rising in the polls, called for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority to be dismantled because of the attack.
"The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarized, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely," he said in a statement.
No evidence suggests that the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was connected to Friday's attack.
Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is Netanyahu's top rival in the election, praised the response by troops.
"Like all Israelis, I pray for the complete and quick recovery of the injured," he said.
The incident comes as tensions soar in the West Bank, including over attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian olive harvesters, and days ahead of Israeli elections.
According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,113 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period.
L.Klein--BlnAP
