A local wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, based in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, opened fire at a settlement and a town in Israel bordering the security barrier on Sunday, causing slight damage.
The Israel Defense Forces said that a Palestinian-owned car parked outside of the West Bank settlement of Mevo Dotan, and a home in the northern Israeli town of Gan Ner were hit by gunfire during the separate attacks.
Photos shared by authorities showed that one bullet pierced through a window of a home in Gan Ner, before hitting a couch.
There were no injuries, medical officials said.
In a statement, the so-called Jenin Brigades of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying its members managed to flee.
The group published unclear videos purporting to show its members shooting at a vehicle driving outside Mevo Dotan, and targeting homes in Gan Ner.
Local wing of Islamic Jihad in Jenin publishes a video of its members targeting the northern Israeli town of Gan Ner earlier. One home was slightly damaged. pic.twitter.com/MizJYURUpL
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 28, 2023
The IDF said it had launched manhunts for suspects behind both attacks.
Mevo Dotan is located to the west of Jenin, and Gan Ner is just north of the West Bank city.
???? متابعة صفا| كتيبة جنين تبث مشاهد من عملية إطلاق النار نحو مركبة مستوطنين في محيط مستوطنة “دوتان” pic.twitter.com/kzWSrxGkvG
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) May 28, 2023
While shooting attacks targeting Israelis take place periodically, they more frequently take place in the West Bank, and the targeting of Israeli civilians inside Israel proper is less common.
Still, last month, the Jenin-based terror group targeted towns in Israel bordering the West Bank security barrier several times, without causing injuries.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been elevated for the past year, with the military carrying out near-nightly raids in the West Bank, in the wake of a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen attend the funeral of fellow member in the Jenin refugee camp on October 8, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
Earlier this year, a string of Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank killed 19 people and left several more seriously hurt.
At least 111 West Bank Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, but some were uninvolved civilians or were killed under circumstances that are being investigated.
Over the past year, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted troops carrying out arrest raids, military posts, Israeli settlements, and civilians on the roads.
