AP Features, May 6th, 2007
Palestinian militants on Sunday shot and seriously injured an Israeli motorist who was driving west of the West Bank city of Ramallah, the army said.
Israeli troops were searching for the perpetrators, the army said.
The gunmen shot from a car as it passed the Israeli vehicle, Israel Radio reported. The Israeli, a guard who lives in a nearby settlement, was injured in the head and leg but succeeded in driving to the settlement of Naalin and was evacuated to a hospital, the radio said.
Medical officials initially said a truck driver was wounded in the attack, but Israel Radio said the man was traveling in a car.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent group linked to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the attack. Palestinian militants frequently fire on Israelis traveling in the West Bank.
In separate West Bank violence, Israeli troops shot rubber-coated steel bullets toward stone throwers in the Jenin refugee camp. Palestinian medics said four people, including three children, were wounded.
The stone throwing began when Israeli jeeps entered the camp in an attempt to arrest a suspected militant, witnesses said. The troops fired in response, injuring children ages 10, 12 and 13, the medics said. The thirteen-year-old girl was shot in the eye, they said. A man, 18, was also injured, they said.
The army confirmed that rubber-coated steel bullets were used to disperse a demonstration of stone throwers. In addition, troops had been fired at and a bomb thrown at them during the arrest operation in Jenin, the army said.
