A Palestinian gunman killed four people at a gas station near a refugee camp in the northern West Bank Tuesday. The shootings come a day after six Palestinians were killed during a dramatic Israeli raid on the Jenin settlement.
Palestinian news outlets reported the shooter’s driver fled the scene, while Israeli security forces claim he was killed and said the search is on for other militants. The Associated Press said photos of a bloody person lying next to an automatic firearm were circulating.
Several other people were injured in Tuesday’s shooting, including two men whose serious wounds were treated at an Israeli hospital.
Fighting in Jenin was so fierce Monday that Israel deployed helicopter gunships to provide cover for troops stranded in the refugee camp. Palestinian militants used roadside explosives to strike Israeli military vehicles. Eight Israeli troops were hurt. More than 90 people were reported injured in the camp.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassen didn’t take credit for Tuesday’s shootings, but praised “Revolutionaries in the West Bank” for striking Israeli targets in unexpected places. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad also stopped short of claiming responsibility for the gas station assault.
Israeli defense officials planned to discuss how they might address the continued violence.
Two dozen Israelis and 126 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting in 2023. Israeli forces regularly raid West Bank refugee camps to crackdown on what they consider to be militant activity by Palestinians.
The Associated Press reports tensions between the two sides in recent months is due in part to militaristic sensibilities among a new generation of Palestinians clashing with the hard-line position of Israel’s right-wing government.