JERUSALEM, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli-American man was shot dead by Palestinian gunmen in a drive-by shooting attack in the occupied West Bank on Monday, amid spiraling violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the assailants opened fire at an Israeli car near the Palestinian city of Jericho in the southern West Bank and hit the driver.
Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said in a statement that the 27-year-old driver sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was rushed to a hospital with cardiopulmonary resuscitation in progress. He later succumbed to fatal injuries.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides confirmed in a tweet that the victim was a U.S. citizen.
The perpetrators fled the scene. "Soldiers are conducting searches and setting up roadblocks and checkpoints in the area," the Israeli army said in a statement.
The incident took place a day after hundreds of Jewish settlers embarked on the worst spree of violence over the past years. The Palestinian news agency of WAFA reported that the settlers torched at least 40 homes, vandalized dozens of shops and cars, and killed sheep in the town of Hawara and three other towns in the area of Nablus city.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Sunday that a 37-year-old Palestinian man was killed by a gunshot, apparently fired by an Israeli soldier, and numerous others were injured.
The rampant attacks came hours after a Palestinian opened fire from a passing car at Israelis near Hawara, killing two brothers.
In a statement on Monday, the Israeli army said it was beefing up its forces in the West Bank with four battalions, amid prospects of further escalation of violence. ■
