Palestinian shot dead trying to stab soldier; was father of terrorist who killed 3 in TLV

A Palestinian man was shot dead while trying to stab Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Jenin overnight Thursday-Friday, the army said. The assailant was identified as the father of a terrorist who killed three Israelis in Tel Aviv in 2022.

The military said that soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade who were carrying out an arrest raid in Jenin were attacked by a Palestinian armed with a knife.

“The forces returned fire at the terrorist and eliminated him,” the IDF said, adding that no soldiers were hurt.

AFP footage from the scene on Friday showed a pool of blood and bullets scattered among groceries in the family’s home.

A Palestinian eyewitness, who declined to give her name to AFP, said Israeli forces raided her neighbor’s house in the early hours and told Hazem to raise his hands, which he refused to do.

“He then attacked them with a knife, and they shot him seven times in front of his 10-year-old son. They dragged him down the stairs and took him with them,” she said.

The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that Fathi Zidan Hazem, 58, “died from injuries sustained after being shot by Israeli forces early Friday in the city of Jenin.”

The ministry said that Hazem’s body was being withheld by Israel.

Hazem was a retired colonel in the Palestinian National Security Forces.

In April 2022, his son Raad Hazem carried out a shooting spree in Tel Aviv, opening fire at a bar and killing Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini, two friends both aged 27, and Barak Lufan, a 35-year-old father of three.

Hazem went on the run and was found hiding near a mosque in Jaffa after an hours-long manhunt involving hundreds of security officers.

While initially raising his hands in surrender, Hazem reportedly then drew a gun and opened fire on the officers, who fired back and killed him.

At the time, Fathi praised his son for the killings and refused an Israeli summons for questioning.

A second son, Abdul Rahman Hazem, was killed during an Israeli military raid targeting alleged terror operatives in the Jenin refugee camp in September 2022.

IDF soldier, in house seized in Qusra: ‘I am the owner’

The incident came as, elsewhere in the West Bank, footage appeared to show soldiers tossing residents’ clothes out of a house in the village of Qusra that the Israel Defense Forces has taken over, rather than allowing the residents to come up and get their belongings themselves.

The left-wing Yesh Din rights group published footage Thursday of Israeli troops tossing the clothes belonging to Palestinians from the window of a West Bank home that has been under siege by settlers and soldiers for 12 days.

The home in question was taken over by soldiers as part of an operation that is purportedly aimed at protecting the residents of Qusra from settlers who have established outposts nearby intending to evict the Palestinians.

Soldier standing inside the besieged house in Qusra to Kusai Abu Ridi – “I am the owner”

This happens after soldiers through the women’s and children’s clothing from the balcony of the house. pic.twitter.com/PyRyAnnUBZ

— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) August 20, 2026

While the outposts have been taken down, soldiers have allowed the settlers to continue roaming the area, in defiance of the army’s own closed military zone order.

Residents of the home taken over by the IDF asked for permission to enter the home to pick up some of their clothes. But rather than approve the request, soldiers decided to just toss the clothes out of the window from the top floor of the home, after which the residents had to pick up the clothes from the ground.

“This is utterly outrageous. The footage shows that instead of protecting these families, the military is subjecting them to further abuse,” Yesh Din said in a statement.

“After failing to enforce the law against the settlers, the military itself has now imposed a siege on the families, who have been confined to two homes for a week without being able to leave, receive visitors, or obtain food and basic supplies,” it continued.

Now in Qusra: Women and children’s clothing being thrown from the balcony of the besieged families home – which has been under military occupation for the past week and is currently being used by soldiers.

video: Luai Abu Ridi pic.twitter.com/S4wFS9tgkY

— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) August 20, 2026

“This appears to constitute prohibited collective punishment, even more so since none of the family members are suspected of any wrongdoing.”

“Throwing their clothes out of the house is yet another form of humiliation, in what appears to be a deliberate pattern of mistreatment and cruelty,” the statement added.

Settlers allegedly set fire to quarry, no injuries

Palestinian media outlets reported, meanwhile, that settlers set fire to a quarry in the South Hebron Hills in the southern West Bank overnight.

Footage from the scene appeared to show several pieces of heavy machinery on fire.

There were no reports of injuries.

مستوطنون يضرمون النيران في "محجر" بمنطقة وادي الرخيم في مسافر يطا، جنوب الخليل. pic.twitter.com/YEPuQEwvNL

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 21, 2026

There has been a dramatic rise in settler violence in the West Bank. Attacks occur on a near-daily basis and largely go unchecked, with prosecutions rare and convictions rarer still.

Israeli security establishment figures reported by Kan showed 660 serious incidents of Jewish “nationalistic crime” in the West Bank during the first six months of 2026, up from 405 during the same period last year — a 63 percent increase.

Six Palestinians were killed and 140 wounded in settler violence during the first half of the year, compared with no deaths and 82 injuries during the same period in 2025. Attacks targeting Israeli security forces also rose 50%, with 45 incidents recorded. Roughly another 100 incidents were recorded in July, according to the Kan figures.

Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.