Four others were also wounded when gunmen opened fire at a roadside restaurant and a gas station near the settlement of Eli. Among the dead was a teenager.
The scene of the attack in the West Bank. Photo: Reuters
The Israeli military said it was reinforcing its forces in the West Bank following the attack.
The attack was carried out by two gunmen. One was shot dead by a civilian at the scene and the second was shot by Israeli security forces but fled the area. The militant Islamist group Hamas said the two gunmen were its members.
Violence has increased sharply in the West Bank over the past 15 months, as the Israeli military has stepped up attacks on flashpoint areas.
Tuesday's shooting came a day after an hours-long gun battle between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops in the Jenin refugee camp, one of the fiercest clashes in the West Bank in months.
Six Palestinians were killed and more than 90 were injured. Seven Israeli soldiers were also wounded.
Members of the Israeli government urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond firmly. “The time has come to act,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said. Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a full-scale military operation in the West Bank and urged Jewish settlers in the area to take up arms.
US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, aimed at establishing a state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, collapsed in 2014.
Hoang Nam (according to Reuters)
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