(JTA) — An Israeli woman was killed and her driver injured in a shooting attack outside Hebron on Monday, the latest in a string of deadly attacks in the West Bank that included the killing on Saturday of a father and son in Huwara.
Shay Nigreker, 60, and his son Aviad Nir, 28, had traveled to the Palestinian town from their home in Ashdod to do errands when they were shot to death while at a gas station. The town was the site of riots by Jewish settlers in February after two Jewish brothers were shot to death there.
The victim of Monday’s shooting was identified as Batsheva Nigri, 40, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Beit Hagai. She was riding in a car on Route 60, the highway that runs the length of the West Bank. Her young daughter was in the car but was unharmed, according to local reports.
In both cases, according to Israeli media, Hamas and Palestinian Jihad praised the attacks but did not claim credit for them.
The attacks come amid a surge in violence in the West Bank and Israel, which has included West Bank shooting attacks like the ones this week, attacks by Palestinians within Israel and frequent military raids on Palestinian cities. Since the beginning of the year, more than two dozen Israelis and more than 100 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in the violence.
Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, has reportedly called an emergency meeting focused on the violence on Monday. The Israeli government is divided over how to tackle the surging violence, with members of far-right parties, including Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, urging a harsher response including the demolition of homes belonging to the families of Palestinians identified as having committed attacks. “We prefer terrorists in the grave and not in prison,” Tzvi Sukkot, a member of the Knesset from Ben-Gvir’s party, said in response to Saturday’s shooting.
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