This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/world/middleeast/gunman-attacks-car-in-west-bank-killing-israeli.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Gunman Attacks Car in West Bank, Killing Israeli Gunman Attacks Car in West Bank, Killing Israeli
(about 4 hours later)
TEL AVIV, Israel — An attacker opened fire on a civilian vehicle near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing one man and wounding another, Israel’s military said in a statement. TEL AVIV, Israel — A Palestinian man shot two Israeli men in a vehicle as they were leaving a spring near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing one and wounding another, Israel’s military said in a statement.
The gunman flagged down the car, which was carrying two Israeli hikers, and asked the occupants about a nearby spring before pulling out a weapon and shooting them both, the statement said. The hikers were taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital. The shooting occurred on the second day of Ramadan. Its timing was a grim reminder of the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers last June in the West Bank, which unleashed tensions that culminated in a seven-week war between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group, in Gaza.
The shooting occurred on the first fasting day of Ramadan. Its timing was a grim reminder of the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers last summer in the West Bank, which unleashed tensions that culminated in a devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. On Friday, the gunman flagged down the car and asked the Israeli men, two hikers, about the nearby spring. According to the statement, he then pulled a pistol out of a plastic bag and shot them. A spokeswoman for the military said Friday night by telephone that it was not yet clear whether there had been an argument or other altercation before the gunfire.
Hamas praised the attack on Friday but did not claim responsibility for it, Israeli news media reported. The Israeli men were taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital, where one of the victims died. He was identified by the Israeli news media as Danny Gonen, 25, a student from Lod, a city in central Israel.
Israeli radio reported that the hikers had gone to a spring close to the Jewish settlement of Dolev, which was built between two Palestinian communities. The men decided to leave after seeing Palestinians sitting there. The gunman approached their car on foot and pulled a pistol out of a plastic bag, according to local news reports. Hamas praised the attack, but did not claim responsibility for it, Israeli media reported. The military spokeswoman, speaking on the condition of anonymity under standard protocol, said the army had not yet determined if the killer had acted alone or on behalf of a terrorist organization, because he had not yet been apprehended.
The military said it was trying to track down the attacker. Visits to the spring by Israelis must be coordinated with the Israeli Army, which provides security if the visit is approved, an Israel Defense Forces officer told reporters at a briefing, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The officer said the two men had not coordinated the visit.
Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, condemned the attack in a statement sent to reporters and called on “all sides to exercise the utmost restraint.” Israeli leaders condemned the attack. “We will not accept a situation in which a young hiker has his life taken from him in the land of Israel because he is Jewish,” President Reuven Rivlin said in comments on his Facebook page. “The murderous attack that occurred today is another step in the quiet and serious escalation in acts of terrorism we have witnessed in recent months.”
Israel’s education minister, Naftali Bennett, of the hawkish Jewish Home party, accused Palestinian society of promoting “murder and terror.”
“At a time when the world is busy boycotting Jews, the Palestinians are busy killing them,” he said in a statement.
Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, called on all sides “to exercise the utmost restraint” in a statement sent to reporters.
Israeli Radio reported that the spring was close to the Jewish settlement of Dolev, which was built between two Palestinian communities. The men decided to leave the area after seeing Palestinians sitting there, Israeli media reported.
The West Bank is dotted with springs that are frequented by both Palestinians and Israelis. But local Jewish settlers, sometimes backed by military forces, do not allow Palestinians to enter some springs.