2 Islamic Jihad gunmen killed in attempted West Bank shooting attack on IDF troops
Two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed after opening fire on Israeli forces in the northern West Bank on Saturday morning, the army and the terrorist group said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, troops operating near the village of Jaba’, south of Jenin, came under fire from a passing vehicle. The IDF said troops returned fire on the car and identified several suspects who had been hit.
In a statement, PIJ said members of a local wing based in Jaba’ had opened fire on Israeli forces in the area.
The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry said two men were killed in the incident, Izz a-Din Basem Hamamra, 24, and Amjad Adnan Khaliliya, 23.
They were both identified as PIJ members in a later statement from the terrorist group.
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Palestinian media released footage of the car apparently involved in the attempted attack. The windows could be seen broken and the seats were soaked in blood.
اسود الكتيبة الله يرحمكم ويتقبلكم YA AMJUD وعز..
– على نهج الجميل ختوا تريقهم وجهادهم فاللهم تقبلهم.. ????
الشهيد المجاهيد عز الدين حمامرة احد مجاهدي جبع المحمدة لسرايا القدس
الشهيد المجاهيد امجد خليلية احد مجاهدي القدمة جبع المحمدة لسرايا القدس#كتيبة_جبع#سرايا_القدس pic.twitter.com/bKnYhg2wIT
— العصف الحقي (@ali1994ali11) January 14, 2023
#عاجل صورة Country: قوة يسرايلية في تلق النار على سيارة في بلدة جبع جبع جنوب جنين وحديث عن اغتيال Shabin pic.twitter.com/NblpKEYxDh
— وكانا صفا (@SafaPs) January 14, 2023
The IDF said troops searching the area found an M16 rifle used by one of the gunmen.
No Israeli soldiers were injured in the attack, the IDF added.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the security barrier in the West Bank, Israeli settlements and civilians on the streets.
An M16 assault rifle found near the village of Jaba’ in the West Bank after a gun attack against Israeli troops, January 14, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Separately early Saturday, a Palestinian died two weeks after being seriously wounded by gunfire during clashes as troops worked to demolish the homes of two gunmen who killed an army officer last year.
Yazan al-Jaabari, 19, died of his wounds on January 2, Ibn Sina hospital in the southern city of Jenin said in a statement. AP Health Ministry also confirmed his death.
Two Palestinian gunmen were also killed during that clash.
The IDF said at the time that during the operation in Kafr Dan, north of Jenin, troops came under “massive fire” from Palestinian gunmen.
“Troops responded with riot gear and fired at a number of armed men who fired at them,” the IDF said, adding that “the suspects were hit.”
The village is home to two Palestinian gunmen who carried out a deadly attack along the West Bank security barrier on September 14, killing Major Bar Falah, 30, deputy commander of the elite Nahal reconnaissance unit.
Major Bar Falah, 30, deputy commander of the elite Nahal reconnaissance unit, who was killed in a firefight with two terrorists near the security fence in the West Bank on September 14, 2022. (Courtesy: Family)
Israel regularly destroys the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks as a political matter. The effectiveness of the measure has been hotly debated even within the Israeli security establishment, while human rights activists denounce the practice as unfair collective punishment.
A military inquiry into Falah’s death pointed to “mistakes” made by troops, who discovered the suspects near a military post and went in to investigate, but failed to realize they were armed and were caught unawares by the shelling. their initial fire, which hit Falah.
The incidents came during an Israeli anti-terror offensive, focused mainly on the northern West Bank, to deal with a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 31 people in 2022.
The IDF operation has netted more than 2,500 arrests in almost overnight raids. It also left more than 170 Palestinians dead in 2022, and 12 more since the start of the year, many while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, although some were uninvolved civilians.
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