Alwaght- At least four Israeli soldiers have been injured after an improvised explosive device, allegedly a grenade, was thrown at a military outpost in the Occupied West Bank on Sunday night.
The Grenade was hurled from a passing vehicle at a post near the illegal settlement of Halamish and the adjacent Palestinian town of Nabi Saleh, located 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) northwest of Ramallah, late on Sunday, according to a statement by the Israeli army.
The four soldiers were listed in light condition and treated at the scene, noted the statement, adding, one of them was later taken to the Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan for further medical treatment after sustaining injuries from shrapnel.
The Israeli military launched a manhunt for the suspects who fled the scene.
According to Palestinian media outlets, Israeli troops closed the main entrance to Nabi Saleh.
This comes amid escalating tensions across the occupied territories as the Israeli military is pressing on with its clampdown and repressive measures.
Hamas reaction
“The escalation of resistance operations today in the West Bank, the latest of which was recently in Ramallah, confirms that our people in the West Bank have launched a new stage in confronting the Occupation and confronting its crimes against our people and al-Aqsa Mosque, and that the confrontations and operations will expand and move to various regions,” Abd al-Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas resistance movement, said in reaction to the incident.
The development came hours after seven people were injured when shots were fired at a bus carrying Israeli soldiers on a major highway in the Jordan Valley.
The Israeli military said the bus came under fire near the settlement of Hamra, seriously wounding one soldier. Another five soldiers and the bus’s civilian driver were hurt.
The seriously wounded soldier and the bus driver were reportedly taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, with gunshot injuries.
The other five soldiers were slightly hurt by glass fragments.
Israeli forces continue their near-daily raid-and-arrest operations in various parts of the West Bank, wounding or killing Palestinians. Such raids are carried out while Israeli settlers also conduct acts of violence against Palestinians and their property.
Settler violence is rampant in the occupied Palestinian territories. The acts of violence and vandalism, known as price tag attacks which are committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property, have risen in recent years.
However, Israeli authorities rarely prosecute Israeli settlers for their assaults on Palestinians and their property and the vast majority of the files are closed due to deliberate police failure to investigate properly.
Many Palestinians have also sustained injuries or lost their lives in incidents due to allegations that they attempted stabbing or car-ramming attacks against Israeli settlers and forces.
As many as 74 Palestinians, including 37 Palestinian children, have been killed so far this year, many as a result of the use of lethal force by the Israeli authorities in a manner described by the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Territories as a violation of international human rights law.
