At least four people died and four others were injured, one seriously, in a Palestinian attack on Tuesday in the Jewish settlement of Eli between the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus, according to health officials.
According to the Israeli army, the attackers arrived by car at a gas station in Eli, near Ramallah, and opened fire on civilians at the entrance to the settlement. One of the attackers was killed right there.
In a later statement, after the pursuit of other suspects began, security forces claimed to have killed a second attacker in the car in which he fled, where the weapon allegedly used in the attack was also found.
This Tuesday marks one of the deadliest Palestinian attacks so far this year, after seven Israelis were killed in another shooting attack near a synagogue near Jerusalem last January.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has called an emergency meeting with the high command of the security organizations. National Security Chief Ultra Itamar Ben Gvir has called for a counter-operation to be launched and, as on previous occasions, has defended the use of selective assassinations. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, without giving any further details, that “all options are now on the table”.
The injured were taken to a hospital while the search for other possible attackers continues. The army guards the entrance to Palestinian cities from Highway 60, where the attack’s gas station is located.
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The attack came a day after a raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin that sparked violent clashes and killed five Palestinians, including at least three militants. The nine-hour attack was the first in the occupied area since the end of the Second Intifada in 2005, when Israeli forces opened fire from helicopters.
Another 91 Palestinians and seven Israeli soldiers and police were injured in the raid, which came at a time when Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and settler leadership had called for a major operation in the northern West Bank.
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