Three members of the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad were killed and four Israeli soldiers wounded in an arrest operation in the West Bank in the early hours of Saturday morning.
One of the Israelis was seriously injured and flown by helicopter to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. He underwent surgery, was hospitalized in intensive care and was in stable condition.
Another soldier was moderately injured, with wounds to his torso and legs, and the other two received minor injuries.
The shooting erupted when terror suspects opened fire on an Israeli team from the elite border police terrorist unit Yamam trying to arrest them.
Shin Bet internal security said the suspects were in a vehicle when they made contact with Israeli forces in the village of Arraba, southwest of Jenin.
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The suspects appeared to be on their way to an attack, Israeli authorities said.
“This was a terrorist squad involved in recent terrorist activities against Israeli security forces and appeared to be on course for another attack, and the troops’ actions prevented a terrorist incident,” police said in a statement.
The suspects have already exchanged gunfire near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, internal security agency Shin Bet said.
The suspects were under Shin Bet surveillance for several hours prior to the shooting, and Israeli troops found firearms and grenades in their vehicle.
Police released images of the weapons believed to be in the suspects’ vehicle, including an M16 assault rifle, at least two 30-round magazines and a hand grenade.
. היו בדרכם לבצע פיגוע בטווח הזמן המיידי pic.twitter.com/nFsELBAU9r
— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) April 1, 2022
The arrest operation was a joint effort by Yamam, the Shin Bet and the IDF, police said.
Hours later, the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad said the three killed were members of its military wing.
The group swore revenge for the dead and announced they would continue their attacks on Israel.
The incident came amid rising tensions in Israel and the West Bank, including in the Jenin region.
A string of three deadly terrorist attacks killed 11 people in Israel in a week, including a shooting that killed five on Tuesday, putting Israeli security forces on high alert. The escalation came at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – often a time of high tension in Israel and the West Bank.
One of the three attacks was perpetrated by a Palestinian from the Jenin area; the other two by Israeli citizens claiming affiliation with the Islamic State.
At least two Palestinian gunmen were killed in a gun battle with Israeli forces on Thursday when commandos entered Jenin in a rare daytime attack as part of a large-scale counter-terrorist operation following the recent attacks. At least 14 other Palestinians were injured in the incident and dozens arrested in the operation.
Palestinian gunmen attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in clashes during their funeral in Jenin, West Bank March 31, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
The IDF said the arrest operation — dubbed “Breakwater” — targeted people suspected of planning future attacks, as well as some believed to be linked to Tuesday’s deadly attack in Bnei Brak. A Palestinian from Hebron was also arrested for alleged affiliation with the Islamic State.
In response, the ruling Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip threatened to escalate violence against Israel.
Israel has stepped up security measures in response to the attacks, deploying additional forces in the West Bank, on the Gaza Strip border and in major cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
According to reports Friday, Israeli security officials have foiled concrete warnings of impending terrorist attacks and a number of other planned attacks in recent days.
Public broadcaster Kan said on Friday Defense Secretary Benny Gantz and IDF chief Aviv Kohavi had ordered the military to prepare for a months-long escalation.
Additional troops are expected to remain in the field, and Kohavi has ordered the IDF to step up intelligence gathering in Syria, Sinai and on the Palestinians in Lebanon.
Kohavi pledged that the military “will act in every way to stop terrorist attacks,” while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel “will overcome them this time as well.”
Also on Friday, Palestinian Authority health officials said a 29-year-old Palestinian man was killed by live Israeli fire during clashes with soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron.
The IDF confirmed that troops in Hebron opened fire and beat a man, saying he “threw an incendiary bomb at troops and endangered their lives.”
Israeli officials have sought to defuse tensions ahead of Ramadan amid fears the violence could spark the same type of unrest that rocked Israel in May 2021, when Hamas began firing rockets at Israel, sparking an 11-day war with Gaza and days after sparked unrest between Arabs and Jews in Israel.
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