Two IDF soldiers wounded overnight in drive-by shooting in Huwara
Suspects shot from moving car, fled before reinforcements arrived
Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers on patrol in the Palestinian town of Huwara were shot and seriously wounded last night in a drive-by attack, as shooters targeted them from inside a moving car.
IDF reinforcements arrived shortly afterwards, evacuating the wounded soldiers to Beilinson Hospital at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva and immediately beginning a search for the shooters.
One of the soldiers reportedly is in critical condition, while the second is in moderate condition. Earlier this morning, the hospital announced that the two were no longer in critical medical danger but will remain in the intensive care unit.
While not taking responsibility for the attack, Hamas spokesperson, Mohammed Hamada, called the shooting “a message that challenges the Zionist occupation army.”
“The besieged town of Huwara continues to resist,” he said. “As long as the occupation continues, the resistance will continue.”
This is the third shooting in Huwara in the last month.
On Sunday, a shooter in Huwara targeted former U.S. Marine David Stern as he drove through the town with his wife. The attacker shot Stern multiple times, including in the head. Despite his injuries, Stern managed to return fire, wounding the shooter, who was later apprehended by IDF soldiers. Following the attack on Stern and his wife, IDF forces temporarily locked down the town.
Knesset Member Danny Danon with the Likud party called for closing the shops on the main road through Huwara until a planned bypass route can be completed.
“A third attack at the same place in Huwara. There is only one solution! Until the bypass road is opened, the shops on the main road of the village must be closed and the route hermetically secured,” he said. “The blood of our citizens is not free!”
Meanwhile, the IDF announced the arrest of three Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm early Sunday morning after shots were fired at the Jewish settlement of Avnei Hefetz. The newly-formed Tulkarm Brigade-Rapid Response group claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of their leader, Amir Abu Khadija, on Thursday.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
