Jerusalem, Nov 6 (IANS): Three Israeli soldiers suffered injuries Wednesday night in a suspected run-over attack near the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank, the Israel Defence Forces said in a statement.

Initial reports showed that three IDF soldiers were wounded "in a suspected attempt to run them over by a Palestinian vehicle", Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.

"The IDF is conducting a widespread search to locate the vehicle and its driver," the statement said, adding all the injured have been taken to hospital.

Police spokesperson Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed that a commercial SUV with a Palestinian license plate hit two Israelis near a junction at the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank.

The incident occurred hours after an East Jerusalem Palestinian slammed his car into a crowd of bystanders at a Jerusalem light railway station, killing an Israeli border police officer and injuring more than a dozen others.