Israeli wounded and soldiers returned fire, wounding a Palestinian gunman, who was arrested, according to the Israeli army.
The Israeli Ambulance and Rescue Service said a 30-year-old man was injured when the vehicle he was traveling in came under fire in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday.
The Israeli army said it had received a report of a “shooting incident” in Huwaraa city that has been at the center of Israeli military raids and a looting of settlers these last weeks.
Israeli doctors said a man was shot in the upper body and seriously injured, while his wife suffered minor injuries.
The Israeli army said soldiers or one of the wounded shot at the suspected Palestinian shooter, who was later arrested by Israeli forces. His condition was not immediately clear.
The shooting happened as Israeli and Palestinian officials held talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh seeking to restore calm after an outbreak of deadly violence in the West Bank and ahead of a sensitive holiday period which begins this week.
Last month, a Palestinian gunman killed two israeli settlers crossing Huwara. This was followed by a rampage by Israeli settlers who killed a Palestinian and burned dozens of homes and cars.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also said Huwara should be “annihilated”in words that have been widely condemned.
The West Bank has seen an upsurge in clashes in recent months, with near-daily military raids and escalating settler violence.
Israeli settler-related violence targeting of Palestinians has reached its highest level since 2006, the United Nations told Al Jazeera.
A daily average of three violent incidents per day was recorded in 2023, compared to two incidents per day in 2022 and one incident per day in 2021.
Sunday’s meeting is the second attempt by the parties, backed by regional allies Egypt and Jordan as well as the United States, to end a year-long eruption of violence that has seen more than 200 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and over 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians killed in Palestinian attacks.
Over the past year, Israeli forces have also made thousands of arrests in the West Bank.
The continued deadly military raids have raised questions about the prospects for holding meetings between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which governs limited parts of the West Bank.
The previous meeting in Jordan late last month ended with an agreement aimed at defusing tensions. It was quickly derailed by several new bursts of violenceincluding an Israeli raid in Nablus who killed 11 Palestiniansmaking expectations for the second installment low.
Sunday’s shooting further reduced those expectations. Yet mediators want to ease tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadanwhich is expected to begin this week and which coincides next month with the Jewish holiday of Passover.
“Overall, the Palestinians are disappointed. They say the United States wants to somehow contain a potential escalation that could occur during the holy month of Ramadan, especially since we know that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are planning a strike. open hunger,” said Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied region. West bank.
“If you ask the Palestinians on the street if they think this summit will lead to anything, they will tell you that it will not lead to any results,” she added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no mention of the summit during his weekly cabinet meeting.
Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh tweeted on Saturday that the meeting was aimed at “demanding an end to this continued Israeli aggression against us.”
The Palestinian delegation will participate tomorrow in the Sharm Al-Sheikh meeting, with a regional and international presence. To defend the rights of our #Palestinian people to freedom and independence, and to demand an end to this #Israeli aggression against us. https://t.co/tZWvTiArHT
— حسين الشيخ Hussein AlSheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) March 18, 2023
