After Hadera attack, reports of settler vandalism and assault on elderly Palestinian

Several alleged settler attacks on Palestinians were reported in the West Bank overnight Sunday-Monday, after two Border Police officers were killed in a deadly terror attack in Hadera.

Palestinians said an elderly man was physically assaulted by a group of Jewish settlers near the flashpoint settlement of Yitzhar in the West Bank. Numerous settler attacks have been reported in the area in the past.

He was taken to Rafidia Surgical Hospital in Nablus, the reports said.

Riots erupted in several areas in the West Bank, including in the village of Jalud south of Nablus, where settlers hurled stones at homes and torched several cars, Palestinian media reported.

Police confirmed that five Palestinian cars were torched overnight in Jalud and said an investigation had been launched accordingly.

And in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah, vigilantes spray-painted walls and punctured tires of cars.

Some of the slogans read: “Revenge!” and “We won’t stay silent when are brothers are murdered.”

Police said they were investigating that incident as well.

In Hadera, right-wing protesters blocked Route 4 and chanted slogans such as “Death to Arabs!”

The unrest felt across the country followed two deadly attacks on Israelis, only days apart.

A shooting attack in Hadera on Sunday claimed the lives of Border Police officers Yazan Falah and Shirel Aboukrat, both 19. Days earlier, a ramming and stabbing attack in Beersheba claimed the lives of four civilians — the worst attack on Israeli civilians in years.

The two terrorists who committed the attack in Hadera and the one who carried out the attack in Beersheba, all of them Israeli citizens, are all believed to be supporters of Islamic State, raising concerns of further attacks inspired by the terrorist organization.

Following a situation assessment held on Sunday evening, the IDF said it would deploy four extra battalions to Israeli settlements located between the Green Line and the security barrier in the West Bank. Additional Border Police troops will also be deployed to the area of Wadi Ara in Israel, which contains the city of Umm al-Fahm, where the terrorists who carried out the Hadera attack were from.

Security camera footage from Sunday night’s scene in Hadera showed the two gunmen, bearded and wearing white overalls, opening fire at passersby and police officers at a bus stop in the city, close to several restaurants.

Police said several officers were hurt in the attack and during a gun battle with the terrorists shortly thereafter. Both gunmen were shot dead by members of a unit of undercover officers who were eating at a nearby restaurant, police officials said.

Police said Monday morning that five residents of Umm al-Fahm were arrested overnight.

Three of them are suspected of affiliation with Islamic State, and the other two for their alleged connection to the attack, police said. All five have been taken to the Shin Bet security agency for further questioning.

During the arrests, police forces seized a firearm and books and items said to be related to the jihadist group.