Four Palestinians and an Israeli were killed in a shooting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday morning, according to health officials, in one of the most deadly incidents in the territory over the past year.
The health ministry of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, said four people were killed and four others were wounded, including three in critical condition. Magen David Adom, the Israeli ambulance service, said one person in his 30s was killed and two others were wounded — one seriously and the other moderately.
The exact details of the shooting remain unclear, with conflicting versions of events from Israeli and Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military said that soldiers were sent to the Palestinian village of Tell, close to the city of Nablus, after receiving a report about an attack on Israeli hikers in the area.
The military said that “terrorists” had opened fire and injured several Israelis after stealing the weapon of a security officer. It was unclear from the military’s statement whether the officer was an Israeli soldier. Later on Friday, the military said it had killed the person who attacked the Israelis.
Walid Zeidan, the mayor of Tell, offered a differing account based, he said, on conversations with Palestinian eyewitnesses.
“A number of settlers attacked the village,” Mr. Zeidan said in a phone interview. “It started with verbal altercations between our residents and the settlers and evolved into a physical fight before they started shooting” at village residents.
Mr. Zeidan said he had no information to suggest that residents of his community had opened fire on Israelis that morning.
