Gunman Opens Fire in West Bank Village, Injuring Activists
A single gunman opened fire in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank on Thursday, firing at moving vehicles and injuring three people, including a 13-year-old boy, Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service revealed. According to security authorities, IDF personnel have blocked roads near Al-Auja and are actively pursuing the attacker.
Israeli media reports that the gunman was wearing a military uniform when he opened fire on passing vehicles, hitting both a bulletproof school bus and other passing vehicles.
Of the three victims, the injured 13-year-old boy who was hit by glass shrapnel during the attack is in stable condition, while another man in his 20s is lightly wounded. A third individual in his 30s is allegedly in moderate condition and is currently receiving treatment, medical authorities say. The minor was also taken to a hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.
According to the Israel-based rights group Occupation in the Eye, which pledges “to protect Palestinians and demand freedom and equality for all the country’s inhabitants,” two of the three victims were activists in their organization traveling to assist and defend Palestinian shepherds in the West Bank when the attack occurred.
Following the incident, the group released a statement on social media, reading: “These days, amid the war in Gaza, we’re seeing an increase in the intensity and scope of the oppression of the Palestinians all over the occupied territories. Human rights activists working in this violent reality may also be harmed, as we witnessed this morning.”
