A Palestinian on Sunday reportedly shot and injured an Israeli settler outside of the Ibrahimi mosque before fleeing the scene, Israel’s army and media reported.
An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed to Ma'an that the attack was carried out outside of the mosque, located in the Old City of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
The attacker reportedly opened fire from afar hitting an Israeli woman before fleeing the scene, Israeli media reported. Israeli forces in the area had begun a manhunt for the attacker following the incident.
The Ibrahimi mosque where Sunday’s attack took place has been site to several attacks on Israeli military and settlers since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory in October.
The holy site -- also known as the Cave of Patriachs -- has long been a flash point, situated in the Old City under full Israeli military control.
Locals told Ma’an earlier Sunday that Israel’s army had extended an order declaring areas of Hebron’s Old City a closed military zone for a renewable one-month period.
The zone was ordered in November and has since banned all entry to the areas, apart from Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents who were forced to register in order to gain access to their homes and surrounding areas.
Hebron has been divided since 1997 with the majority of the city placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control, known as H2.
The H2 area is home to 30,000 Palestinians and around 800 Israeli settlers who live under the protection of Israeli forces.
The army pledged following the November closure to maintain normalcy for residents, however Israeli rights group B’Tselem since has said: "There has been no 'normal fabric of life' in Hebron for many days, and the measures taken in the name of security are draconian and not dictated by reality.”
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