Attacker killed after five wounded in West Bank shooting

The Guardian  /  October 29, 2022

Four Israelis and one Palestinian injured in gun attack in Hebron/Al-Khalil, say Israel’s emergency services and army

Israeli first responders gather outside the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem following the gun attack. 

A gun attack in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron wounded five people on Saturday, including four Israelis and one Palestinian, and the assailant was shot dead, Israel’s emergency services and the army have said.

Extreme-right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose Religious Zionism alliance is eyeing major gains in elections on Tuesday, has claimed that his Hebron home was the target.

Israel’s security forces have not confirmed the allegation and Israeli media, citing security sources, have reported that Ben-Gvir’s home was not targeted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency response service reported five wounded. A 50-year-old Israeli man was “unconscious with an injury to his upper body”, the MDA said, with others suffering less severe wounds.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said the Palestinian victim was being treated at a Hebron area hospital.

Israel’s army said an attacker “shot live fire” near a checkpoint in Hebron, an occupied West Bank city which is also home to a community of hardline Jewish settlers.

An army spokesperson told AFP that an Israeli security guard shot the attacker dead at the scene. Soldiers were conducting searches in the area for additional suspects, the army said.