RAMALLAH, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army on Saturday night sealed off the northern West Bank district of Nablus following a drive-by shooting attack that wounded two Israeli soldiers in the town of Huwara, Palestinian security sources said.
The sources told Xinhua that following the shooting attack, Israeli army forces imposed a total siege on the district and blocked the roads leading to Nablus and many of the neighboring towns and villages to deny Palestinian vehicles access.
Nabil Dmeidi, mayor of Huwara, located south of Nablus, told Xinhua that the Israeli army sealed off the town, closed all stores and shops and deployed dozens of soldiers in the streets to prevent the residents from moving.
On Saturday evening, an Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a drive-by shooting attack in Huwara, with one in serious condition and another in moderate condition. The assailants opened fire at the soldiers from a car that drove fast in the town.
A militant group called Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility for the shooting attack.
Several Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said in separate statements that the shooting attack "was a natural response to the Israeli violations against the Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem."
The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been flaring since early January this year, with 89 Palestinians and 14 Israelis killed, according to official Palestinian and Israeli statistics.
