Israeli settler shot dead in West Bank attack

An Israeli settler was killed in a drive-by shooting Monday near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, the latest fatality amid rising violence in the Palestinian territory.

Israeli forces have been searching for suspects in the latest attack as well as in a Saturday shooting that killed two Israelis in the northern West Bank.

Israeli medics said a woman was "confirmed dead" after being shot near the southern city of Hebron.

A man travelling with her in a car was in a "serious condition", the Magen David Adom emergency service said in a statement.

The Israeli military confirmed the death of the 40-year-old woman and said she was shot "from a passing vehicle".

Troops went in pursuit of the assailants and blocked roads throughout the area, an AFP photographer said.

"We will catch the murderers" and "make... them pay", said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised statement from the site of the attack.

Israeli officials identified the victim as Batsheva Nigri, a teacher living in the nearby settlement of Beit Hagai.

One of Nigri's children was in the vehicle when it came under fire but was unhurt, said the same officials who represent settlers in the area.

Later on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot six people during clashes in Beita in the northern West Bank.

One of them was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head, the ministry said.

The Israeli military did not comment on the violence in Beita.

- Gaza border rally -

In the Gaza Strip also on Monday, eight Palestinians including a journalist were wounded by Israeli forces, the blockaded territory's health ministry said.

They were hit as hundreds rallied near the border fence with Israel in "support of the resistance in the West Bank", according to Hamas authorities.

The Palestinian militant group which controls Gaza said Monday's attack near Hebron was a "natural response" to settlement projects.

"The operations will continue until the end of the occupation," it said in a statement.

There has been surge in violence in the West Bank since early last year, with a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, repeated deadly Israeli army raids and violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinian communities.

Saturday saw two Israelis shot dead in Huwara, a town near Beita, sparking a massive and ongoing manhunt for the attacker.

The area is home to some of the most extreme-right settlers in the West Bank and there have been a series of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and forces there in recent months.

Settlers have also carried out attacks on Palestinian residents in Huwara and the surrounding villages.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967, when it also seized the Gaza Strip but withdrew from it in 2005.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to nearly three million Palestinians and around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.

At least 218 Palestinians have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year.

Some 31 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have also been killed, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.

They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.