NABLUS: An Israeli soldier was shot dead on Tuesday near a settlement in the occupied West Bank in an attack claimed by Palestinian militants, the second deadly assault on armed forces within days.

The killing is the latest as violence surges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli army said the soldier was killed when “two assailants arrived in a vehicle adjacent to the community of Shavei Shomron and shot live fire,” referring to an Israeli settlement.

The shooting was claimed by “The Lions’ Den”, a loose coalition of Palestinian fighters which has emerged in recent months.

“We announce carrying out a second shooting operation targeting occupation (Israeli) soldiers in the Deir Sharaf area, west of Nablus,” the group said.

Israeli forces are in pursuit of the assailants following the attack near Nablus in the northern West Bank, the military added in its statement. A journalist saw security forces deployed in the area and checking vehicles.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz vowed to “get our hands on the terrorist and those who helped him”, writing on Twitter. The soldier killed was named as 21-year-old Ido Baroukh.

The killing comes three days after an 18-year-old Israeli soldier was shot dead at a checkpoint by the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat, in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Israeli forces are continuing a manhunt for the alleged gunman, identified by police as a 22-year-old Palestinian resident of the city. As part of the pursuit, Israeli forces shut the entrances to the refugee camp and the United Nations said schools there closed on Monday.

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab-Israeli lawmaker, visited the camp on Tuesday and described the “suffering” of residents.

“Sick people are not able to get outside to be treated, bakeries are empty, some physicians and doctors and nurses were not able to get in,” he said. “In order to get out, you need to wait in your car, three or four hours. This is suffering, this is collective punishment,” Tibi added.

Since Friday, four Palestinian teenagers have been shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

A fifth Palestinian, a 12-year-old boy, died Monday from wounds sustained last month during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

The Israeli army and other security forces have launched near daily West Bank raids in recent months, following deadly attacks against Israelis. Dozens of Palestinian fighters and civilians have been killed during the military operations.

East Jerusalem and the West Bank have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Israeli settlements have been established by the state across the two territories, which are deemed illegal by most of the international community.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2022