Hamas commander among four Palestinians killed in West Bank clash
Israel says Border Police officers fired on car that tried to ram them as Hamas members sought to evade arrest raid in Ramallah-area village following Sunday night outpost attack
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Border Police officers killed a Hamas commander and three other Palestinian terrorists during a West Bank arrest raid late Monday targeting a man accused of carrying out an arson attack on a settler outpost a day earlier, authorities said.
One officer was slightly hurt amid the operation, police said.
The incident occurred in the West Bank town of Kafr Ni’ma near Ramallah in the central West Bank, as troops carried out a manhunt for the terrorists behind Sunday night’s attack on the Sde Ephraim outpost.
Undercover Border Police officers and IDF troops approached a hideout where the cell that allegedly carried out the attack was gathered, causing the main suspect and three others to attempt to flee in a car, police said.
Police said the suspects tried to ram into the officers while making their escape. Officers opened fire at the vehicle in response, killing the four men inside.
In their vehicle, troops found a makeshift sub-machine gun, a military vest, and explosive devices, authorities said.
The Hamas terror group said in a statement that four Palestinians were killed in an armed clash with troops, including commander Mohammed Jaber Abdo, who it said had served 20 years in Israeli prison.
It said a second slain man, Mohammed Raslan Abdo, was a member of its Qassam Brigades armed wing, and identified the other two killed as Rushdi Atayeh and Wassim Zidan Abu Adi, both of whom it said were “fighters” without noting any affiliation.
ארבעת המחבלים שחוסלו בכפר נעמה: מוחמד רסלאן עבדו, מוחמד ג'אבר עבדו, רושדי עטאיא, וואסים זידאן אבו עאדי@OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/PfYFszAVyh
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 11, 2024
In the overnight attack in Sde Ephraim, surveillance camera video showed an armed suspect pouring flammable liquid on a trailer used by settlers as a living space, and then setting fire to it, before leaving the scene.
There were no injuries in the attack, as the couple living there were not home at the time.
Sde Ephraim was established illegally on a hilltop that had been part of the Palestinian village next door, Ras Karkar, also known as Risan. Settlers from the outpost have clashed with local Palestinians in the area in the past.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,150 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,750 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 520 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time in addition to the four that were killed Monday night.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
