Israeli settler killed in shooting operation near Halamish settlement in West Bank
QUDS, Sept. 20 (YPA) – An Israeli settler was killed on Sunday in a Palestinian shooting operation carried out by a Palestinian man near the Halamish settlement, northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian media reported that the attacker opened fire from inside a vehicle bearing Palestinian license plates at settlers who were near a water spring in the area before withdrawing from the scene. Israeli occupation forces later raided a hospital in Ramallah’s Al-Irsal neighborhood following reports that an injured person believed to be the attacker was inside.
The Israeli occupation forces said they had “arrested the perpetrator of the shooting operation in the central West Bank.”
Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, called on the occupation forces to raid the village from which the perpetrator of the shooting operation came and level it to the ground, according to his remarks.
Israeli occupation forces imposed a complete closure on the area where the shooting occurred and set up checkpoints. They also surrounded Abdullah bin Jaber Mosque in the town during afternoon prayers.
Israeli occupation’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the army and Shin Bet to reinforce forces in the West Bank, impose closures, and carry out attacks and arrest campaigns to safeguard Israel’s security, according to his statement.
Netanyahu added that he had ordered immediate measures to demolish the home of the perpetrator of the shooting operation in Halamish. Hebrew-language media reported that the occupation forces also raided the town of Beit Duqqu, northwest of Jerusalem, which was identified as the attacker’s hometown.
The Israeli occupation government’s security minister called for the implementation of the law imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners against the perpetrator of the Halamish settlement attack.
Palestinian Resistance Calls for Escalation
In the first reaction to the operation, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, praised the attack, which resulted in the killing of an Israeli settler, and called on Palestinians across the cities, refugee camps and villages of the occupied West Bank and Al-Quds to join a comprehensive escalation of the confrontation.
In a statement, the brigades called for confronting occupation forces and settlers using all available means to deter continued Israeli attacks against Palestinians and their land.
Hamas also welcomed the shooting operation near the Halamish settlement west of Ramallah.
In a statement, the movement described the attack as a powerful and practical response to recent statements and provocations by Israeli occupation’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly his highly publicized tours of tunnels beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. It said the attacks constituted a natural response to occupation violations against Islamic holy sites.
Separately, Israeli occupation forces carried out what was described as a new field execution near the Ganim checkpoint east of Jenin in the northern West Bank. The forces opened fire on two Palestinian men, killing one and injuring the other, claiming that they had been attempting to carry out a ramming attack.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the young man was killed by Israeli occupation forces and said his body was being withheld near the Ganim checkpoint.
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