Palestinian attempts to snatch soldier’s gun during West Bank raid, IDF says

A Palestinian attempted to snatch a soldier’s gun during an overnight arrest raid in the northern West Bank city of Qabatiya, the military said on Wednesday morning.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, during the arrest of three wanted Palestinians in the city, south of Jenin, troops came under gunfire by gunmen, and returned fire at them.

Then, one suspect approached the troops and attempted to snatch his gun, the IDF said. “In response, the force at the scene shot at him,” the military said, adding that the suspect was hit.

Palestinian media reports said one person was taken to a hospital in Jenin after being shot. His condition was not immediately clear.

The IDF said one soldier was lightly hurt in the incident in Qabatiya, and was taken to a hospital in Israel for further treatment.

Footage published by Palestinian media outlets also showed an explosive device being detonated near a convoy of IDF vehicles in the city.

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Separately, the IDF said troops arrested nine more wanted Palestinians and seized several firearms in overnight raids across the West Bank, with violent incidents in some areas.

In all, 12 suspects were taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet security agency.

The arrests came amid a months-long Israeli anti-terror effort, mostly in the northern West Bank, following a series of terror attacks that left 31 people dead in 2022.

The IDF’s operation has netted more than 2,500 arrests in near-nightly raids. It also left over 170 Palestinians dead in 2022, and another three since the beginning of the year, many of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, though some were uninvolved civilians.