IDF kills 2 Palestinians suspected of throwing stones at Israeli cars in West Bank
Palestinian Authority news agency identifies suspects as 17 and 19, says 20-year-old also wounded in incident near Nablus amid expansion of IDF offensive in the area
IDF troops on Thursday evening killed two Palestinian teenagers who were allegedly hurling stones at Israeli motorists near Nablus in the northern West Bank, amid a recent expansion of the military’s counter-terrorism operation in the area.
According to the IDF, soldiers of the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit were waiting in an ambush outside the town of Usarin when they spotted three Palestinians hurling stones at cars on a nearby highway. The soldiers opened fire on the suspects, killing two and wounding the third, the IDF said.
WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, said the troops opened fire during a confrontation with residents of the area following a military raid in nearby Usarin.
The news agency identified the slain Palestinians as Jihad Adham Edeili, 17, and Saif Ghassan Edeili, 19. The wounded Palestinian is aged 20, WAFA reported.
According to WAFA, the bodies of the two dead assailants are being withheld by the IDF. The military’s statement on the incident did not mention if it was holding the bodies.
The killings came a day after two American tourists were injured in the West Bank when assailants threw stones and a paint bottle at a tour bus near Burqa, east of Ramallah, according to the IDF.
Since January 21, the IDF has been carrying out a major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, focusing mainly on the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem. The military announced last week that it had expanded the operation to the area of Nablus.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced in the offensive, according to UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.
The offensive followed a spike in West Bank violence since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Since the Hamas onslaught, troops have arrested some 6,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,350 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 900 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 51 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
The Times of Israel Community.