wo people were shot dead Thursday and two wounded at a bus stop on a main road in the Israeli-controlled part of the West Bank, a chief medic told Israeli television.

In a statement, Israel's military said the gunman stepped out of a vehicle and opened fire on Israeli soldiers and civilians standing at the bus stop. He then fled the scene, according to the statement.
The shooting took place less than two kilometers away from Ofra settlement, the site of a drive-by shooting on Sunday in which seven people were wounded. A baby born prematurely to one of those injured died Wednesday.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas praised Thursday's attack. The group's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, did not claim responsibility for the attack, but warned of more to come.

"There is still a lot in our pocket [that can be used] against the enemy. The fire under the ashes in the West Bank will burn the occupier," the group said in a statement.

Israel's military has blocked traffic to Ramallah -- the administrative center of the Palestinian Authority -- in its search for the shooter. "We have currently blocked the entrances and exits to Ramallah and we are conducting searches there and continuing to act in the vicinity," Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Cornicus said in a conference call with reporters.

The West Bank is a Palestinian territory, whose administrative responsibilities are divided geographically between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military still maintains broad authority, controlling main roads and checkpoints, as well as having a presence in settlements.

Cornicus said the shooting could have been a copy-cat attack, possibly inspired by a recent shooting. He did not comment on whether a militant group may have been responsible, or on the background on the suspects.

He added that Israel's military is boosting its presence in the West Bank with additional battalions that would "conduct both defensive and offensive missions to protect the community and people traveling on the roads."

A Palestinian man named Saleh Barghouti suspected of carrying out Sunday's shooting was shot dead by Israeli forces in a raid on Wednesday night near Ramallah.

Another Palestinian man suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a West Bank industrial park two months ago was shot dead in an overnight raid in the West Bank, according to Israel's military.
Ashraf Naalwa, 23, from the West Bank village of Shuweika, was on the run for two months after the attack, which left two Israelis dead. The attack was carried out in a factory where both the victims and the attacker worked.

"The murderers are abhorrent, the most deviant criminals on earth," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an event on Wednesday evening.


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