The shooting poses a challenge to Netanyahu, who returned to power in December at the head of a hard-right nationalist government that promised to improve personal security for Israelis after deadly Palestinian street attacks last year. .
The Israeli army said on Saturday it was sending additional troops to the West Bank, which has seen months of escalation in 2022 with the highest death toll, including militants and civilians, in more than a decade.
Still, there was no indication that Israel was preparing a large-scale military response to the shooting. With US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visiting this week, Israeli and Palestinian leaders were expected to try to stop the violence.
After summoning his security cabinet for a meeting late on Saturday, Netanyahu said the government would step up sanctions against the attackers’ families and that he would present steps this week to “fortify the settlements”.