On Sunday afternoon, a truck carrying three suspects overtook the bus in the Jordan Valley and opened fire on the windshield, seriously injuring the civilian driver, as well as six other soldiers listed in moderate and light conditions. The gunmen also attempted during the attack to pour flammable liquid on the bus to set it on fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The three fled after soldiers on the bus opened fire on them and, after about two kilometers, their car caught fire, likely from the material they tried to throw onto the bus, according to the IDF’s initial investigation. The trio’s truck had Israeli and not Palestinian license plates. The senior official told reporters that the three are relatives — a father, a son and the elder’s nephew. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Two of the gunmen – the son and nephew – jumped out of the burning vehicle and were immediately arrested by soldiers and police. Two firearms were found nearby. Israeli soldiers inspect the site of a shooting attack on a bus carrying soldiers in the Jordan Valley on September 4, 2022. (Flash90) They were named by Palestinian media as Muhammed and Walid Turkman, residents of the Jenin district in the northern West Bank. The couple was questioned by the Shin Bet security service. The third suspect, the father, left the car about 200 meters from where the other two jumped out, the senior officer said, as it continued to roll while on fire. He managed to flee the scene as soldiers arrested the couple. Mohammed and Walid Turkman from Jenin are conducting the operation in the Jordan Valley today. pic.twitter.com/tun8qLv9zd — Shejaeya (@shejae3a) September 4, 2022 According to the officer, the father, in his 50s, is married to an Israeli woman from the Galilee town of Jadeidi-Makr, and therefore has Israeli citizenship. However, the military believes the suspected gunmen spend most of their time in the Jenin and Jericho areas. Col. Meir Biderman, the commander of the 417th Territorial Brigade, said IDF forces are continuing the hunt for the additional core member. “We won’t rest until we catch them all,” he said. Israeli police inspect weapons used in a shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen, in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley, September 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) The IDF was still investigating whether the gunmen knew the bus, which was attacked near the Hamra settlement, was carrying soldiers when they opened fire. The bus – carrying mostly unarmed soldiers to a training base – was not armored, unlike buses that travel deeper into the West Bank. The officer said the car attack was “an unusual event that we haven’t known about for a long time, and certainly not in the Jordan Valley.” Members of the Israeli security forces and emergency services inspect the scene of a shooting attack on a bus carrying soldiers in the Jordan Valley on September 4, 2022. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP) Last month, shots were fired at an Israeli bus traveling along Route 60, the West Bank’s main north-south highway, near the settlement of Ofra. The bus was full at the time of the attack and at least eight bullet holes were found in the windows and body of the bus, but no injuries were reported. Tensions have escalated in the West Bank recently, with Israeli security forces stepping up arrest raids and operations following a deadly wave of terror attacks that left 19 dead earlier this year. In the past week alone, there have been several attacks, as Palestinian gunmen fired on several military positions in the West Bank and a soldier was stabbed near Hebron. There were also numerous stone-pelting attacks on Israeli civilians driving into the West Bank. “We are in a very complicated period here that is not over yet,” the senior officer said. “The area is boiling, and that’s a fact.” You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For just $6 a month you can support our quality journalism by enjoying Times of Israel ADS-FREE, as well as access to exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel Community. Thank you, David Horowitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
