IDF: Palestinian man detained for allegedly firing at settlement
Military says suspect fired six times at Havat Yair with makeshift submachine gun, fled scene but was caught a few hours later
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Palestinian gunman who opened fire at an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank on Saturday was detained several hours later, the military said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the gunman opened fire at Havat Yair, southwest of Nablus, and fled the scene.
Troops found six shell casings in the area.
There were no reports of injuries or damage caused by the gunfire.
The IDF said that following scans of the area and intelligence efforts by the Shin Bet security agency, the suspect was detained in the West Bank town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, and the gun used in the attack — a makeshift “Carlo” submachine gun — was seized.
Surveillance camera footage showed the gunman opening fire at the settlement from a nearby hill.
Havat Yair was established illegally in 1999, but was legalized by Israeli authorities in 2021.
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The attack came hours after members of the Nablus-based Lion’s Den terror group opened fire on a military post in the northern West Bank.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high for the past year, with the IDF conducting near-nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.
A string of attacks in Jerusalem in recent weeks left 11 people dead and several more seriously hurt.
Over 60 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, but some were uninvolved civilians and others were killed under circumstances that are being investigated.