IDF arrests brother of killed Tapuah Junction attacker

In an overnight raid, Israeli forces arrested the brother of a teen who attempted to stab soldiers at a flashpoint West Bank junction, the army said Sunday.

Border Police shot and killed 17-year-old Qutaiba Zahran on Saturday after he pulled out a knife and tried to stab a group of Boder Police officers at the Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank.

One officer was lightly wounded in the leg by shrapnel from the shots fired. He was treated by Magen David Adom medics at the scene and was later transferred to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah.

Following the overnight arrest, Zahran’s brother was transferred to security authorities for questioning. Five other Palestinians were detained in overnight raids across the West Bank. Four of the suspects were said to have been involved in violent disturbances against civilians and soldiers.

Channel 2 reported that Zahran had left a note for his parents, saying that he had gone out to carry out a “revenge attack” and not to mourn him because he was now a “martyr”

The Tapuah Junction has been a frequent site of stabbing attacks in recent years.

Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 48 Israelis, two visiting Americans, a Palestinian man and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.