'I kept firing until he fell': Security officer recounts killing West Bank terrorist

Morel Nikel was dispatched to the scene when Palestinian gunmen killed 4 Israelis in Eli settlement and was injured in gunfight; from hospital bed, he urges tougher IDF action

A settlement security officer who shot and killed one of the terrorists who carried out Tuesday’s deadly terror attack in the West Bank has recounted the gunfight and its aftermath from his hospital bed.

The attack unfolded when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a hummus restaurant and gas station near the settlement of Eli, killing four Israelis, including two 17-year-olds, and injuring four others.

One of the terrorists was shot dead at the scene by Morel Nikel, who works in the Eli settlement’s security squad, while the second gunman fled and was killed some two hours later by special forces.

Nikel was hit during the exchange but was in stable condition and was hospitalized.

“I ran to the car — I rushed to the gas station,” he told media.

“I saw one of the terrorists. There was a gray Subaru. A man was sitting inside and that beast sprayed gunfire at him,” he said, referring to one of the terrorists. “We started to fire at each other. I hit him; he hit me, unfortunately.”

Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Eli, June 20, 2023. Inset: (left to right) Harel Masood, 21, of Yad Binyamin, Elisha Anteman, 17, of Eli, Ofer Fayerman, 64, of Eli, and Nachman Mordoff, 17, of Ahiya, who were killed in the attack (Flash90; courtesy)

Asked if he had realized he was hit during the gun battle, Nikel replied: “I realized. The truth is it didn’t hurt that much. I felt it. Obviously, I realized I’d been shot. Hit by a bullet. Great. A bullet in the leg, a bullet in the shoulder.

“I kept firing at him until he fell. He was still moving. Those beasts apparently have more than one soul. I fired one more [bullet] and he stopped moving. Thank God, I’m fine. Nothing serious was damaged,” he said.

He noted that one of the doctors who treated him was an Arab, and linked it to an incident Monday in which soccer fans jeered an Arab player from the national team and called him a terrorist, saying: “We must understand, these are not our enemies. These Arabs are not our enemies. They can be our friends.

“But to my sorrow, there are many, many, many — and I’ve not checked this statistically, I think it’s the majority — the majority are our enemies, they hate us and want to kill us, and do kill us. The next attack will come,” he said, calling for preemptive strikes against terrorists.

Israeli security forces inspect the car belonging to Palestinian terrorists at the scene of a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Eli, June 20, 2023. (Flash90)

“You don’t need to wait until someone picks up a gun and kills people, and then kill him. Nobody [whom our enemies want to kill] should be hurt or scratched… This is our country… including Judea and Samaria… They are slaughtering us… Why do we have to wait?” he asked, using the West Bank’s biblical name.