Israeli killed in West Bank shooting — army

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — An Israeli was killed and two others wounded in a shooting near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Monday, the army said.

“Fire was opened at Israeli civilian vehicles on route 35, near Hebron, and we’re conducting widespread searches for the perpetrators... an Israeli civilian was killed in the attack,” an army spokeswoman told AFP.

A separate army statement added that two other Israelis were also wounded.

Israeli military radio said the victim was a man, and his wife and one of their children were those injured.

It was unclear if they were Israeli settlers residing in the occupied West Bank.

The flashpoint city of Hebron, home to nearly 200,000 Palestinians, also comprises some 80 settler housing units in the centre of town housing about 700 Jews who live under Israeli army protection.

The incident took place as the seven-day Jewish Passover holiday began.

In September, an Israeli soldier was shot dead by a suspected Palestinian gunman in the centre of Hebron during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot.