3 Israeli civilians wounded, 1 seriously, in rare southern West Bank shooting

An Israeli man was seriously wounded and his two daughters were hurt in a shooting in the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli emergency services said Sunday.

The shooting took place in the Israeli-occupied southern West Bank, which is normally calmer than the north.

The trio were injured after shots were fired from a moving vehicle at the Tekoa Junction, south of Bethlehem, the IDF said. Three suspects, including the purported gunman, have been arrested, Israeli authorities said in a statement.

The wounded man, in his mid-30s, was conscious and in a serious but stable condition with gunshot wounds, the Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service said when it responded to the attack.

The girls, aged 9 and 14, were mildly injured in the incident by what the MDA called shrapnel. All three were taken to Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem, the MDA said. A volunteer emergency medical worker at the scene confirmed the the wounded man was the father of the two.

The incident prompted Israeli authorities to close checkpoints around the historic city of Bethlehem, normally one of the West Bank's more peaceful areas.

"We're talking about an area where there hasn't been a serious terrorist attack for years," local Israeli official Shlomo Ne'eman said in a statement obtained by the Jerusalem Post.