By Ron Kampeas
This is a developing story.
(JTA) — Palestinian gunmen killed four people and wounded four in a terror attack at a gas station near the West Bank settlement of Eli, the Israeli army reported.
View of the Jewish settlement of Eli, in the West Bank, Jan. 17, 2021.(Sraya Diamant/Flash90)
An Israeli civilian returning fire at the scene of the attack on Tuesday killed one of the attackers, who emerged from a vehicle, and another was later captured. Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, said one of the wounded Israelis was in serious condition.
Hamas claimed the gunmen as members and said the attack was a response to an Israeli military raid on the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday. In heavy fighting surrounding the raid, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including three militants, and wounded more than 90 people. Palestinian militants wounded eight Israeli soldiers.
On Tuesday, the attackers shot at a guard post at the entry to the settlement, and then continued to the gas station, which is also the site of a snack bar. Residents of Eli were temporarily told not to leave their homes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced plans to convene a briefing with top security officials within hours of the attack. Kan reported that there were celebrations of the killing in major West Bank cities and in the Gaza Strip, initiated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the United States, Israel and the European Union consider terror groups.
The shooting comes as tensions intensify in the West Bank and Jerusalem. More than 20 Israelis and more than 100 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year.
The Biden administration spoke out over the weekend against Israel’s plans to build 4,000 new housing units for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also finalized plans to transfer West Bank settlement building decisions to Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister. Smotrich has said he wants to limit Palestinian building and expand settlement building.
Kan reported that the dead attacker was a resident of a village, Urif, close to Huwara, the Palestinian town where terrorists killed two Israeli brothers driving through in February. Settlers retaliated by raiding the village and burning cars and buildings.
