Israel in West Bank manhunt at Netanyahu under pressure

TIL Desk/World/Ramallah/ Israeli forces kept up a manhunt Friday for a Palestinian who shot dead two soldiers in the occupied West Bank, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced right wing pressure for a strong response. Thursday’s shooting was the latest incident shattering months of relative calm in the West Bank, where 400,000 Israel is live in settlements alongside more than 2.5 million Palestinians.

It was the third deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank in two months and set off demonstrations by settler groups against Netanyahu, whose right wing government depends on their support. Israeli media speculated Friday about the possibility of a new Palestinian “intifada,” or uprising,against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

In Thursday’s attack, a gunman got out of his car and opened fire on soldiers and others outside a settlement in the central West Bank, killing two and seriously injuring another two Israelis before fleeing. In response the army locked down the city of Ramallah, home to secular Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, while calling in reinforcements. Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces erupted in different parts of the West Bank, including inside Ramallah during army raids.