Two Israeli settlers were shot and killed Thursday evening as they were driving between the settlements of Itamar and Elon Moreh.
Shots were fired from a passing vehicle which then drove to a nearby Palestinian village, Ma’an News Agency reports.
The settlers have been identified as Eitam and Naama Henkin, from the settlement of Neira to the north of Ramallah. Four of the couple’s six children were in the car with them at the time of the shooting, none of whom were injured.
The Abdel Qader al-Husseini Brigades, a group affiliated with Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, has claimed responsibility for the shooting,The Times of Israel reports.
IDF spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted that 4 battalions would be deployed in the field, “to prevent escalation” and search for the “terrorist” involved in the shooting.
Shortly after the shooting, Israeli settlers began attacking Palestinian homes and vehicles, including an ambulance, across the West Bank. In the village of Beitillu, settlers torched a car and spray-painted “Revenge Henkin” on a wall, Ma’an News Agency reports.
Over 200 settlers attempted to raid the village of Huwwara under the protection of Israeli soldiers.
Hamas has declared the shooting a “heroic operation carried out by resistance fighters in the West Bank.”