Israeli civilian moderately wounded in West Bank shooting attack
Troops search for assailant who shot 18-year-old driver near Ariel settlement after reportedly first using a laser to temporarily blind him
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
An Israeli civilian was wounded Wednesday evening in a shooting attack near the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel, prompting an IDF manhunt.
The shooting victim, 18, was taken to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva for treatment. Magen David Adom said he was in moderate and stable condition after being shot in the arm while driving.
It was not immediately clear where exactly the shooting took place, the Israel Defense Forces said. The victim reached Ariel’s industrial park after coming under fire, where he met up with security forces and medics.
Troops were blocking roads and using aerial surveillance amid the searches for the assailant, the military added.
Police were also assisting in the searches, with district commander Moshe Pinchi visiting the scene of the shooting.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, the victim said in his initial testimony that the shooter used a laser to temporarily blind him before opening fire.
סריקות אחר המחבל שביצע את פיגוע הירי באריאל, מסוק וזיק הוקפצו@ItayBlumental
(צילום: TPS) https://t.co/OlV46dnzQe pic.twitter.com/RgGIP0yO5I— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 12, 2025
Earlier Wednesday, the IDF said that soldiers demolished the home of a Palestinian terrorist in Qalqilya who killed an Israeli man in the West Bank city last summer.
On June 22, 2024, Ali Khalil and other members of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell opened fire on an Israeli car in Qalqilya, killing Amnon Muchtar, 67, of Petah Tikva.
Khalil and a second terrorist involved in the attack, Jamal Abu Haniyeh, along with seven other gunmen, were killed in drone strikes in the Tulkarem area of the West Bank in August.
Khalil’s home was demolished overnight. Abu Haniyeh’s was razed in January.
As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks.
