Three Israelis seriously wounded in West Bank explosion

Three Israelis seriously wounded in West Bank explosion
August 23, 2019, 8:20 am

A blast from a homemade bomb wounded three people in an attack near an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Israel’s army said, while medics reported one of the injured is in critical condition.

“Three civilians who were in a nearby spring were injured in an IED blast,” the army said in a statement.

“One of the civilians is being treated at the scene while the remaining two were evacuated by (army) helicopter to a hospital for further medical treatment.”

The incident occurred near the Israeli settlement of Dolev, northwest of Ramallah.

Medics from the Magen David Adom rescue service said a 17-year-old was in critical condition and being treated at the scene. It gave the ages of the two others as 46 and 20.

Israeli security forces were deployed throughout the area, AFP journalists reported.

Further details were not yet available on the incident.

Tensions have been high in the West Bank in recent weeks, fueled by clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem.

An off-duty Israeli soldier was killed near the West Bank city of Hebron earlier this month, according to The Associated Press.

Palestinian attacks on Israeli settlers and security forces occur sporadically in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.

There have been concerns of a possible increase in violence in the run up to Israel’s September 17 elections.

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