Six people were injured, one seriously, in a Sunday afternoon attack on a bus in the Jordan Valley, near the Israeli settlement of Hamra on the West Bank. The bus traveling on a major highway was filled with Israeli soldiers returning to their base. The civilian bus driver was among the injured; he and another soldier were airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
The attackers shot at the bus from a moving truck and, when the bus stopped, threw flammable liquid on the bus and attempted to ignite it. Instead, the attackers apparently set their own vehicle on fire. Two Palestinian suspects were caught near the vehicle with weapons believed to have been used to fire at the bus in their possession. The army is searching the area for other attackers.
The bus driver, who was wounded in the face, and a soldier, who was wounded in the neck, and still hospitalized. The attackers are in Tel Hashomer medical center in the burn department, according to the IDF.
Hamas praised the attack, calling it a “natural response to the occupation’s crime and its continued attack on al-Aqsa Mosque.” The attack comes as there has been a rise in attacks in the West Bank and as Israeli security forces have attempted to crack down on Palestinians who have carried out attacks or are planning them, including nighttime raids in Palestinian towns and villages.