Hamas claims deadly West Bank shooting

Friends and relatives mourn for a victim of the shooting carried out by Palestinian gunmen in the Jewish-occupied West Bank Tuesday, that left at least four people dead, and four more injured.

Emergency services say the gunmen opened fire at a roadside restaurant and gas station.

The militant Hamas group claimed responsibility for the shooting, and said the two gunmen were members of its armed wing.

Israeli authorities say one gunman was shot dead by a civilian at the scene and the second by Israeli security forces who tracked him down after he fled the area.

Israel’s police minister has now urged Jewish settlers in the area to arm themselves with weapons, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the quote, “score would be settled”:

“Everyone who hurt us is either in the grave or in prison, so it will be here as well.”

Hamas said the attack was a response to a deadly Israeli raid a day earlier in the flashpoint city of Jenin.

Israel used helicopter gunships on Monday, in an hourslong gun battle that appeared to be some of the worst violence in the West Bank in months.

The firefight killed six Palestinians, including a teenager, and left more than 90 Palestinians wounded.

The West Bank has seen a sharp increase in violence over the past 15 months.

Israel has stepped up its raids as violence surged between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in 2014 and show no sign of revival.

Source » yahoo