A gunman in a vehicle opened fire at three different sites in and around Kochav Yair, a community inside Israel close to the West Bank city of Qalqilya, on Sunday, Israeli authorities said. The attacks left one man dead and five others injured, two of them seriously.
Police said they pursued the suspected shooter briefly before killing him and recovering both the firearm and the car used in the drive-by attacks. A second individual was arrested later after police said he "made statements suggesting involvement in the attack," though officers did not provide details about any specific role he may have played. Authorities said the man resisted arrest and attempted to assault officers with a glass bottle.
Officials identified the person killed by the gunman as a 35-year-old civilian. Israel's ambulance service reported that five other people were wounded in the three drive-by shootings, with two in serious condition.
Police described the suspected shooter who was killed as a man in his twenties and a resident of Tayibe, an Israeli city located nearby that is predominantly populated by Arab citizens of Israel.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the shootings but did not assert responsibility, according to the police statement.
Senior political leaders reacted to the violence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "This morning, a heinous terrorist went out, reached Kochav Yair, and unfortunately managed, before being eliminated, to murder an Israeli citizen and injure others," and he commended the police officers involved. President Isaac Herzog described the incident as a "horrific terror attack," offering his sympathy to the family of the deceased and prayers for the recovery of those wounded.
The military reported that Israeli soldiers were deployed to one of the incident sites in central Israel and to a nearby Israeli settlement in the West Bank following the shootings.
Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a "profound change" among Israeli Arabs and warned of what he characterized as "a dangerous and extremist breeding ground for terrorism is growing that seeks to destroy the State of Israel," comments referenced in the police release.
The circumstances surrounding the motive for the attacks remain unclear in official statements. Police said they recovered the weapon and car used in the shootings and identified a second suspect whose precise involvement was not detailed beyond the assertion that he made statements suggesting participation in the incident.
Reporting details
- The shootings occurred at three locations in and near Kochav Yair, close to Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.
- One civilian, aged 35, was killed; five others were wounded, two seriously.
- Police say they killed the suspected gunman after a brief pursuit and later arrested a second suspect who allegedly made statements suggesting involvement.