(MENAFN- Gulf Times) An Israeli father and son were shot dead in an apparent ambush near Hebron yesterday on a day that also saw three Palestinians die after being shot by Israeli soldiers.
An unknown assailant killed the two Israelis when he opened fire on a car near the Jewish settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the army said.
Another two Israelis were wounded, hospital sources said.
"Two Israelis were murdered... when shots were fired at their vehicle near Hebron", an army statement said, adding that the gunman fled the area.
Israel's Channel 2 said a Palestinian vehicle overtook two Israeli cars on a main road and fired at the first, a people carrier, in which a man in his 40s and an 18-year-old youth, were killed.
It was the most serious attack on Israelis in nearly a month and sparked a manhunt, with soldiers backed by air units deploying en masse in the neighbouring Palestinian communities of Yatta and As Samou.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the attack as a "natural response to crimes conducted by the Israeli occupation".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring the attackers to justice.
Israeli forces took less than a week to arrest the alleged perpetrators of an attack that killed two settlers on October 1 and sparked the latest wave of violence.
Israel says they belonged to a Hamas cell.
In an unrelated incident, a Palestinian was shot dead during clashes yesterday with the army in Hebron, Palestinian medics said.
Hassan al-Bo, 21, died after being hit in the heart by live ammunition, an official at Al Ahli Hospital said.
Soldiers also shot dead a man near the West Bank city of Ramallah yesterday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
A statement announced "the death of a young man, Lafi Yusuf Awad, 22 years old, from the village of Budrus in the district of Ramallah, (killed) by a bullet from Israeli forces".
Earlier, a Palestinian teenager in Hebron succumbed to his wounds after being shot by troops a day earlier.
More than 200 Palestinians were treated during clashes yesterday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, the majority after inhaling teargas.
Violence since the start of October, including a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks, has killed 81 people on the Palestinian side-including one Israeli Arab-and 12 Israelis.
Many of the Palestinians killed were alleged attackers shot at the scene, while others died in clashes.
The violence was originally focused in and around Jerusalem but has recently shifted to Hebron and its surrounding areas.
The city is a frontline of the conflict, with 500 Jewish settlers living under military protection in the centre of a city of 200,000 Palestinians.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank have been declared illegal by the United Nations.
In occupied East Jerusalem, around 200 Palestinians clashed with security forces as they demanded the return of the bodies of alleged attackers from the area.
In Gaza, medical officials said Israeli forces had shot and wounded four Palestinians east of the enclave after they threw stones near the fence with Israel.
The weeks of violence have led to renewed calls for a meaningful peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
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