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AN ISRAELI motorist was shot and killed by a Palestinian gunman on Monday in the occupied West Bank.
The killing came a day after two Israelis were killed by a Palestinian gunman in the northern West Bank, triggering a rampage in which Israeli settlers torched dozens of cars and homes in the town of Hawara.
It was the worst such violence in decades.
The Israeli army said Monday’s shooting took place near the Palestinian city of Jericho.
The shooter then drove further and fired again, the army said. The attacker and his accomplices set their own vehicle on fire and fled, sparking a manhunt.
The Israeli motorist, who was not immediately identified, was transferred from the scene to Hadassah Medical Centre, where he later died of his injuries, according to a statement by hospital spokeswoman Hadar Elboim.
Earlier, Israel had sent hundreds more troops to the northern West Bank after Sunday’s violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, came under criticism for its failure to halt a surge in violence and for sending what some saw as mixed messages.
As Mr Netanyahu appealed for calm, a member of his ruling coalition praised the rampage as a deterrence against Palestinian attacks.
The Israeli army also came under criticism for its failure to move quickly to stop the rioting.
“The government needs to decide what it is,” veteran columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper. “Is it resolved to enforce law and order on Arabs and Jews alike? Or is it a fig leaf for [the extremist religious-nationalist group] hilltop youth, who do as they please in the territories?”
Sunday’s events were sparked after a Palestinian gunman shot and killed brothers Hillel and Yagel Yaniv from the Jewish settlement of Har Bracha, in the Palestinian town of Hawara in the northern West Bank.
Following the shooting, groups of settlers rampaged along the main thoroughfare in Hawara, which is used by both Palestinians and Israeli settlers.
So far this year, 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and civilians. In the same period, 14 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
