Israeli hiker shot dead in West Bank by Palestinian gunman, authorities say

An Israeli man was shot dead and another wounded in the West Bank on Friday by a Palestinian gunman, Israel’s military reported.

The victims, in their 20s, were hikers returning from an excursion near the settlement of Dolev, west of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, according to media reports.

Army spokesman Peter Lerner said the two were driving on a remote dirt road when flagged by a Palestinian man appearing to be asking for help.

After asking if there was water in the nearby spring, the assailant then pulled a handgun out of a bag and opened fire from close range.

Emergency medical teams called to the site treated the victims before a military helicopter evacuated them to Tel Hashomer hospital, where one died of his injuries. The military said army forces were seeking to find the gunman, who fled the scene.

Israeli media did not identify the victims but said the two were not settlers from the area but hikers from central Israel.

The incident came on the first Friday of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims and a generally tense season between Palestinians and Israelis.

President Reuven Rivlin termed it a “murderous attack” and said it represented the latest “serious escalation in acts of terrorism” in recent months. Rivlin urged Palestinian leaders to sound a “clear and decisive condemnation of such criminal acts.”

Sobelman is a special correspondent.