Israel: Attack on bus in West Bank wounds 6 troops, civilian

The Israeli military said that Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a bus in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, wounding six soldiers, one of them seriously, and a civilian.

The Magen David Adom paramedic service said two people who suffered gunshot wounds were airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Haifa.

The Israeli military said it apprehended two Palestinians suspected of carrying out the midday attack on a main West Bank highway.

The suspects fled the scene in their vehicle, which burst into flames shortly after the shooting, security camera footage aired by Israeli media appeared to show. The men exited the burning vehicle and were subsequently apprehended. It was unclear what caused the vehicle to catch fire.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz said that Israeli security forces “laid their hands on the suspects in a speedy and professional operation".

The attack took place on Route 90, the main north-south highway running through the West Bank's Jordan Valley. The road is dotted with Israeli settlements and Palestinian villages and towns.

Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the shooting as a “heroic” operation.

On a dirt road near the bus, Israeli security forces surrounded a torched pickup truck reportedly belonging to the attackers.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.

The attack follows a shooting spree last month targeting an Israeli bus in annexed east Jerusalem.

Eight people, including several US citizens, were wounded in the pre-dawn attack near the Old City of Jerusalem. Following an hours-long manhunt, police said a suspect had handed himself in.

It also follows a spate of violent incidents in recent days in the West Bank.

On Friday, a Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and wounding an Israeli soldier at an army post near the flashpoint city of Hebron, the Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said.

A day earlier, two Palestinians were killed by Palestinian fire during separate clashes with the Israeli army, one near Nablus and another near Ramallah, Palestinian sources said.

• MENA