Israel vows to pursue 'nests of terror' after West Bank shooting kills six

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to go after "nests of terror" after six Israelis were killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

Two gunmen opened fire at a bus stop at the northern entrance to Jerusalem, on a road leading to illegal settlements. The shooters were killed on the spot.

A man and woman in their 50s and three men in their 30s were killed, Israel's ambulance service said. A sixth person was later pronounced dead in hospital.

There was no immediate clarity on the perpetrators, with Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas praising the attack but not claiming responsibility. The UAE was among several countries to condemn the shootings.

Mr Netanyahu visited the scene, seeing a bus windscreen riddled with bullet holes. He warned Israel was in an "intense war against terror" as he vowed it would not relent in its wars on several fronts.

"My instruction is to go strongly against the nests of terror. We have already eliminated nests of terror in refugee camps, in three," Mr Netanyahu said, referring to Israeli operations in the West Bank.

"We simply evacuated the population from there and flattened all the terror infrastructure – and my instruction is to do the same in additional nests of terror."

Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war almost two years ago. Israeli troops have harassed its people and vandalised their homes, while settlers who attack Palestinians are rarely punished in Israel.

Israeli media outlet Channel 12 reported that Monday's attackers were from a village in the Ramallah area and that all crossings from the West Bank into Jerusalem had been closed.

Spain said one of the dead was a Spanish citizen called Yaakov Pinto. At least 12 others were injured in the attack, including seven in serious condition, the ambulance service added.

An Israeli soldier and a civilian who were at the scene shot and killed the attackers, Israeli police said. A third suspect was arrested later on Monday, their involvement unclear.

Israeli police said two attackers arrived by car and opened fire at a bus stop at Ramot Junction. They said a security officer and a civilian shot and killed the assailants. Several weapons, ammunition and a knife used by the attackers, who police only identified as “terrorists”, were recovered at the scene, police said.

The Israeli army said soldiers were searching the area for suspects in co-operation with the Israel Police. It added that troops also encircled several areas on the outskirts of Ramallah “to thwart terrorism and strengthen the defence effort”.

Hamas praised the shooting, which it said was carried out by two resistance fighters, as “heroic and unique”. It said it was “a natural response to the occupation's crimes and the war of extermination it is waging against our people”.

Hamas stopped short of claiming responsibility.

“It is a clear message that its plans to occupy and destroy Gaza city and desecrate Al Aqsa Mosque will not go unpunished,” the group said.

Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group, also praised the shooting but did not claim responsibility for it.

Mr Netanyahu, whose corruption trial court date was cancelled today, said Israel was involved in “an intense war against terrorism on several fronts”.

“We are now engaged in pursuit and are cordoning off the villages from which the murderers came,” he said after visiting the scene. “We will apprehend whoever aided and dispatched them, and we will take even stronger steps.”

“We are fighting terrorism – the terrorist Houthi regime, in Iran, which backs them all, in Gaza, in Lebanon, Hezbollah and in all sectors,” he said.

“We are not relenting, nor will we. We will intensify our operations, and we will achieve all of our objectives.”

West Bank shooting - in pictures

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Israelis to arm themselves following the attack, as part of a campaign he spearheaded after the October 7 attacks to relax the laws around who can carry weapons.

“I said weapons save lives, and we must remember that. I call on the citizens of Israel – go arm yourselves,” Mr Ben-Gvir posted on X.

He also criticised a new ruling by Israel’s courts that Palestinian prisoners were not being fed sufficiently, calling on Mr Netanyahu to intervene, and called for the families of Palestinian attackers to be deported.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, to be dismantled. He accused the PA of “raising and educating its children to murder Jews”.

“The Palestinian Authority must disappear from the map and the villages from which the terrorists came should look like Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” he added.

Politician Zvi Sukkot, who belongs to Mr Smotrich’s party, posted on X that “Nazis are the same Nazis everywhere and need to receive the same treatment. There is no coexistence with them.”

Limor Son Har-Melech, who belongs to Mr Ben-Gvir’s party, posted on X that: “There is no difference between Gaza and Jenin and between Khan Younis and Ramallah. In every place, the enemy wants only one thing, and that is to kill us.”

The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “terrorist acts” and reaffirmed its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and “terrorism” aimed at undermining security and stability.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is leading efforts for more western countries to recognise a Palestinian state, condemned the attack in the settlement.

“An end must be put to the cycle of bloodshed. Only through the power of a political solution will it be possible to restore stable and sustainable peace throughout the region,” Mr Macron posted on X.

Violence has surged in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, since the start of the Gaza war nearly two years ago. Since Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, at least 973 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry show.