Three people were killed and seven wounded in a shooting on Monday morning near the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, located close to Kedumim in the West Bank, according to the Magen David Adom emergency medical service.
MDA paramedics pronounced the deaths of two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. A 63-year-old man was listed by MDA as being in serious condition, a woman in her 60s in moderate condition and five others suffered mild injuries.
The Israel Defence Forces confirmed that terrorists had opened fire at a civilian bus and vehicles near Kedumim.
“As a result of the attack, a number of civilians were injured to varying degrees and are currently receiving medical treatment,” the IDF said, adding that security forces were pursuing the gunmen, setting up roadblocks and encircling several towns in the area.
Israeli media reported that two gunmen in a white vehicle fired on two vehicles and a bus, and that the intensive search for the terrorists was ongoing, including efforts from both the air and the ground.
Israeli authorities aim to start construction of a road to bypass Al-Funduq in the coming weeks, the Samaria Regional Council said on Thursday.
The first phase of the bypass road includes the western section of the route towards the city of Karnei Shomron.
“The Al-Funduq bypass road is part of the revolution of bypass roads in Samaria,” Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan explained in a statement. “The Huwara bypass, the Al-Lubban bypass, the Al-Arub bypass and now here in Al-Funduq. This is a major route through which hundreds of thousands pass every week, and this road will significantly improve security and the quality of life.
“Our answer to heinous terrorism is the building of the land,” the local leader continued. “We will strengthen security here on this road, we will continue to develop the settlement [of Judea and Samaria], and with God’s help, together we will reach a million residents in Samaria.”
The new road around Al-Funduq was approved by the Israel Defence Forces as part of the “lessons learned” after the February 26, 2023, terrorist murder of brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in a shooting attack on the part of Route 60 that passed through the Samaria village of Huwara, near Nablus.
