The shots were fired from the Palestinian town of Silwad at a bus traveling along Route 60, the West Bank’s main north-south highway, near the settlement of Ofra, the IDF said in a statement. The Egged Ta’avura bus was full at the time of the attack and at least eight bullet holes were found in the windows and body of the bus, according to the Binyamin Regional Council. The driver continued to nearby Shiloh Intersection where dispatched troops arrived and launched a manhunt for the shooter or shooters. Medics also rushed to the intersection, but ultimately were not called to treat anyone. As part of the search for the suspects, the army closed the entrance to Silwad, according to Palestinian media reports. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz said the shooting was part of an ongoing escalation by Palestinian gunmen and showed a “loss of deterrence” on the part of Israeli authorities. After the shooting attack – the IDF set up a checkpoint at the eastern entrance to the town of Silwad pic.twitter.com/O5DTHNfd55 — All Real Time News ????Saher (@Saher95755738) August 20, 2022 “We require immediate, decisive and deep action to eliminate terrorism and restore deterrence on the ground,” he added. The Israel Bus Drivers Union, which is part of the Histadrut Labor Federation, called for an end to “violence and terror” against Israeli buses. “We must not neglect the blood of drivers and passengers,” the union said in a statement. The incident came amid escalating tensions in the West Bank, with Israeli security forces stepping up arrest raids and operations following a deadly wave of terror attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people earlier this year. Earlier on Saturday, three Palestinian women from Nablus with an improvised submachine gun in their car were arrested on Saturday near a checkpoint in the West Bank. On Friday, an unarmed 58-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli troops during an IDF raid in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. The IDF confirmed it opened fire during a raid in the city of Toumbas, but said it was aimed at armed suspects who attacked troops with gunfire and bombs. Footage of the killing of Salah Sawafta does not appear to show that he was involved in the fighting before he was shot. “There were clashes with youths in the area and Salah was shot in the head by a sniper after buying a bag of bread from a grocery store,” his brother told The Associated Press. It’s not (only) for you. Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as subscribing to Netflix. The ToI community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions around the world, for free. Sure, we’ll remove all ads from your page and unlock access to some great Community-only content. But your support gives you something deeper than that: the pride of participating in something that really matters. Join the Times of Israel Community Join our Community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For just $6 a month you can support our quality journalism by enjoying Times of Israel ADS-FREE, as well as access to exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel Community. Thank you, David Horovitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
