Israeli soldier wounded near West Bank settlement

Israeli soldier wounded near West Bank settlement

An Israeli soldier was seriously wounded when Palestinian gunmen opened fire near the entrance of a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The army said the assailants fired at the soldier from a vehicle and sped away after the shooting. The attack occurred at the entrance to Ariel, a large West Bank settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus.

The army said it found a burned car near Nablus that is connected to the shooting, but declined to provide further details.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were investigating the incident.

A previously unknown offshoot of Fatah, the movement headed by moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, took responsibility for the shooting in a phone call to The Associated Press.