IDF kills stone-throwing assailant in northern West Bank
Military says soldiers came under attack by several suspects, opened fire, killing one and injuring two; Palestinian media identifies fatality as 26-year-old
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IDF troops shot and killed a Palestinian assailant overnight after coming under attack by stone throwers near the West Bank village of Luban a-Sharqiya, the military said Thursday.
According to the IDF, troops from the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit were carrying out an operation along a main route in the northern West Bank when several suspects began hurling stones at them.
The soldiers opened fire, killing one of the attackers and injuring two others, the IDF said, adding that no Israeli troops were injured in the incident.
The Palestinian Authority identified the fatality killed by the IDF as Khitab Daraghmeh, 26, of the village of Luban a-Sharqiya near Nablus.
Israeli authorities are holding his remains, according to Wafa, the PA’s official news agency.
One of the injured suspects was taken by soldiers to an Israeli hospital, while Palestinian ambulances were permitted to take the other to a West Bank hospital, the Maan news agency reported.
The 26-year-old Khattab Mohammad Ismail Al-Sarhan Daraghmeh succumbed to gunshot wounds inflicted by Israeli forces today in Nablus. pic.twitter.com/HUg9RObV3V
— WAFA News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) January 1, 2026
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy organization claimed that 50 Palestinians had been arrested by Israeli forces across the West Bank since Wednesday night, chiefly in the Ramallah area.
The organization said that most of the arrested Palestinians were people who had been previously jailed by Israel, including one woman.
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including on what precipitated the relatively large wave of arrests.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023. According to the Palestinian Authority, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since then. The IDF has said that most of those killed were gunmen, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, over 65 civilians and 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 during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
Attacks by settler extremists have also risen sharply. The IDF recorded more than 750 incidents of settler violence in the West Bank since the start of 2025, surpassing the 675 incidents recorded in 2024.
The Times of Israel Community.