Troops come under fire during West Bank raids; 16 terror suspects arrested

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Israeli troops in two separate instances during overnight arrest raids in the West Bank, the military said Tuesday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces said troops detained 16 wanted Palestinians during the raids, which came amid a months-long anti-terror offensive following a series of terror attacks that have left 31 people dead since the beginning of the year.

According to the military, troops operating in the northern West Bank city of Nablus came under fire while arresting six Palestinians suspected of involvement in terror activity.

In a separate incident, as troops arrested two wanted Palestinians in the town of Jaba, near Jenin, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at them.

The IDF said no soldiers were hurt in the two shootings.

Troops operating in the West Bank town of al-Khader arrested two wanted men and seized explosive materials, the military said.

The 16 suspects were taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet security agency.

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.

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