IDF says 7 Palestinian gunmen killed in separate incidents in West Bank
IDF kills two gunmen after shooting attack from car near Hebron; 5 killed in overnight op in Jenin, as 7 wanted terrorists detained; Thursday checkpoint attacker’s home mapped
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that its troops had killed seven Palestinian gunmen in two separate incidents throughout the West Bank.
The military said Palestinians opened fire on Israeli forces Friday morning from a vehicle at an intersection near the southern West Bank city of Hebron where Israeli forces were operating.
Reservists of the 8106th Battalion returned fire, killing the gunman and the driver, the IDF said, adding that no soldiers were hurt.
The makeshift submachine gun used in the attack was seized by troops, the IDF added.
The IDF also said it operated in Hebron overnight, measuring the homes of three Palestinian gunmen ahead of their potential demolition. The gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint near Jerusalem Thursday, killing Avraham Fetena, 20, a Military Police soldier.
Also overnight, troops clashed with gunmen during a raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp, capturing weapons and chasing terror operatives attempting to hide in a hospital.
The operation in the Jenin camp was led by the Kfir Brigade and was aimed at uncovering explosive devices belonging to local terror groups. The IDF said a drone struck a group of gunmen shooting at the forces amid the raid. Other Palestinians hurling explosives were shot at during clashes.
The army said troops killed at least five Palestinian gunmen and captured six assault rifles in the Jenin camp. Palestinian media reported three dead, with the reason for the discrepancy in numbers not immediately clear.
According to the Palestinian WAFA news agency, IDF bulldozers operating in the city caused damage to the city’s infrastructure and personal property.
The report said communications were jammed and electricity was cut off in the city during the operation.
Meanwhile, Border Police said officers detained seven wanted Palestinians in Jenin, including Qasem Jabari, a member of a local terror group.
Police and the IDF said a group of gunmen fled in cars and an ambulance toward Ibn Sina Hospital in the city in order to hide there.
Border Police officers managed to stop one of the cars outside the hospital, and detain one of the gunmen. Inside the car, the officers found three assault rifles, footage showed.
צה"ל, שב"כ ומג"ב פועלים כנגד ארגון הטרור חמאס ברחבי יהודה ושומרון.
הלילה מופו שלושת בתי המחבלים שביצעו את הפיגוע במחסום המנהרות אתמול בו נהרג רב"ט אברהם פטנה ז"ל.
כוחות הביטחון עצרו הלילה 21 מבוקשים ברחבי פיקוד המרכז, שישה מתוכם משויכים לארגון הטרור חמאס >> pic.twitter.com/gPP7OvPDWh— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 17, 2023
The shooting occurred amid the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip following the latter’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were murdered and some 240 were abducted, and amid growing tensions and several recent Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.
Since war broke out, the IDF says troops have arrested 1,750 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 200 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in some cases settlers, since October 7.
According to the left-wing Yesh Din rights group, there have been more than 185 settler attacks against Palestinians in over 84 towns and villages around the territory since October 7.
