Two Wounded in West Bank Drive-by Shooting

Israeli soldiers patrol Huwara in the occupied West Bank, on March 20, 2023, a day after a shooting attack on an Israeli settler's car in the Palestinian town. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers patrol Huwara in the occupied West Bank, on March 20, 2023, a day after a shooting attack on an Israeli settler's car in the Palestinian town. (AFP)
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Two Wounded in West Bank Drive-by Shooting

Israeli soldiers patrol Huwara in the occupied West Bank, on March 20, 2023, a day after a shooting attack on an Israeli settler's car in the Palestinian town. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers patrol Huwara in the occupied West Bank, on March 20, 2023, a day after a shooting attack on an Israeli settler's car in the Palestinian town. (AFP)

A suspected Palestinian gunman wounded two people in a drive-by shooting in the flashpoint town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Israeli military said.

Israeli media said the two casualties were Israeli. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials. The military said it was in pursuit of the suspect.

It was the third shooting incident reported around Huwara within a month, raising fears of violence flaring further during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan that partly coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover in April.

On Sunday, the same day Israeli and Palestinian officials made commitments at a meeting in Egypt to de-escalate violence, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on an Israeli couple in their car in Huwara, wounding the man.

A gunman from the Hamas militant group killed two settlers in a car in the same town during the first round of Israeli-Palestinian de-escalation talks last month in Aqaba.

Settlers responded to that attack by setting fire to Palestinians' homes and cars, killing at least one Palestinian.

Over the past year, Israeli forces have made thousands of arrests in the West Bank and killed more than 200 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians, while more than 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians have died in Palestinian attacks.



Qatar Foreign Ministry: Hamas Political Office in Doha Has Not Been Permanently Closed

A file photo of two Palestinian fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, participating in a military parade near the border with Israel in central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023 (Reuters).
A file photo of two Palestinian fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, participating in a military parade near the border with Israel in central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023 (Reuters).
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Qatar Foreign Ministry: Hamas Political Office in Doha Has Not Been Permanently Closed

A file photo of two Palestinian fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, participating in a military parade near the border with Israel in central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023 (Reuters).
A file photo of two Palestinian fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, participating in a military parade near the border with Israel in central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023 (Reuters).

The political office of the Palestinian Hamas group in Doha has not been permanently closed, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday.
Al-Ansari said leaders of the Hamas negotiating team were not in Doha, reported Reuters.
Qatar said last week it had told Hamas and Israel that it will suspend efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until both show seriousness about resuming talks. Doha also said media reports that it had told Hamas to leave the Gulf Arab country were not accurate.