A Sinjel resident who requested anonymity told Reuters he saw cars whose occupants he recognised as Jewish settlers nearby minutes before the incident.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry blamed the incident on "Jewish terrorist elements" but Israeli police, who sent investigators to the scene, said in a statement that the fire "was mostly likely caused due to a short circuit and not a deliberate ignition".
Most countries deem the settlements, which take up land Palestinians seek for a state, illegal. Israeli disputes this.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militant group claimed Saturday night's drive-by shooting in Huwara, 13 km (8 miles) from Sinjel, that wounded two soldiers. It was the third time in a month that Israelis had been fired upon there.