IDF conducting sweeping patrols in area near Cave of the Patriarchs after Israeli national shot in neck; police spokesman say authorities believe perpetrator was Palestinian.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, BEN HARTMAN, REUTERSSoldiers in Hebron 370(photo credit: REUTERS)
An Israeli man was critically wounded Sunday in a shooting attack in the West Bank city of Hebron.Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the man suffering from a bullet-wound to the neck to a hospital in Jerusalem.The IDF was conducting sweeping patrols in the area in search for assailants."Shots were fired near the Machpela Cave," police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said, using the Hebrew name for a Jewish and Islamic holy site also known as the Tomb of Abraham, long a flashpoint between the two communities.He said police believed the perpetrator was Palestinian.An Israeli security source said the victim was a soldier.Israel Radio and television stations said a Palestinian sniper was believed to have shot at Israelis by the holy site, before fleeing the scene.Violence has been rising in recent weeks in the West Bank despite a recent resumption of stalled U.S.-sponsored peace talks.The incident followed the abduction and murder of IDF soldier Sgt. Tomer Hazan in the West Bank over the weekend.
