Military says suspects accelerated toward soldiers searching for terror suspect in Jalazone refuge camp; 16 wanted Palestinians detained overnight
Israeli troops shot two Palestinians dead near Ramallah in the predawn hours of Monday after the pair attempted to run over troops during an arrest raid in the area, the military said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, while troops were operating in the Jalazone refugee camp in an attempt to arrest a terror suspect, a vehicle began to accelerate toward them.
“During the activity, a ramming attack was attempted against the forces, who responded by firing and neutralized the two suspects,” the IDF said.
No soldiers were hurt in the incident.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said it was notified of the deaths, but did not yet know the identities of the men. Some Hebrew-language media reports said a third suspect in the car was also wounded.
Footage published by Palestinian media outlets showed traces of blood on a road allegedly where the incident took place, indicating that the suspects’ bodies were being held by the IDF.
The alleged ramming attack came amid a surge in violence in the West Bank.
On Sunday, a soldier and a motorist were lightly wounded in two separate shooting attacks in the West Bank.
Palestinian gunmen in recent months have targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.
The IDF and police have been on heightened alert since last week’s beginning of the Jewish holiday season, with tensions already high due to an Israeli anti-terror offensive that has seen over 100 Palestinians killed and more than 2,000 arrested in nightly raids in the West Bank.
In arrest raids across the West Bank early Monday, 16 wanted Palestinians were arrested, the IDF said.
Israeli troops have repeatedly come under gunfire during nightly raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank. During an operation in May, a police commando was killed as troops were wrapping up an arrest operation in the Jenin area. Last month, a senior IDF officer was killed in a gun battle with Palestinians on the northern West Bank security barrier.
The military launched the arrest operation after a series of attacks that killed 19 people between mid-March and the beginning of May.
Times of Israel