Palestinian shooting on West Bank road wounds 4 Israelis

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli man was in critical condition following a Palestinian drive-by shooting in the West Bank.

Three others also were moderately wounded in the attack, which occurred late Monday night near the Shvut Rachel settlement located north of Ramallah.

The victims, all in their 20s, were returning to their homes in the Kochav Hashahar settlement on a main West Bank road after playing basketball when they were attacked, according to reports.

The most seriously injured, Malachi Moshe Rosenfeld, underwent surgery at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

His father called on all Israelis to pray for his son.

“This is a difficult hour for the entire Israeli people,” Eliezer Rosenfeld said.”We know your prayer has power. Please pray wholeheartedly for the Almighty to heal and save him, and we are certain that you will send him strength to fight and that the doctors will do their work.”

Photos of the bloody interior of the car were circulated on social media.

“Attempts to attack us do not halt even for a moment,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday morning at the start of his meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentilloni, adding that the Shin Bet security service and the Israel Defense Forces have foiled dozens of terrorist attacks since the start of the year and over 200 since 2014.

“The fact that up until now, the Palestinian Authority has not condemned these attacks needs to bother not only us, but also the international community as a whole. Those who do not take an unequivocal stand against terrorism cannot wash their hands.”

Two Palestinian terror groups, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah al-Intifada, claimed responsibility for the attack, Haaretz reported.