Israeli forces blocked on Saturday exits from the southern West Bank city of Hebron as they launched a manhunt for assailants after shooting incidents targeting Jewish worshippers and a soldier.
Two Israeli teens were shot and wounded on Friday at the flashpoint site known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, the army said.
Around 4,000 Jewish worshippers were visiting Hebron on Friday and Saturday as part of a religious pilgrimage centred around the biblical matriarch Sarah, who according to tradition was buried in a field which eventually became part of the city Hebron.
A soldier was also shot and wounded on Friday near the Palestinian village of Beit Anon north of Hebron.
Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told AFP there was “ongoing activity to locate the perpetrators of yesterday’s attacks”.
Israeli forces were searching Palestinian homes in and around Hebron as well as setting up new checkpoints for vehicles and people, an AFP reporter said.
In addition the army blocked off the northern entrance of Hebron with mounds of dirt. The eastern entrance has been sealed off for days.
