[IsraelTimes] Shin Bet says men were behind shooting in small West Bank Samaritan community on Wednesday; troops map home of Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, gunman who killed soldierTwo armed Paleostinians accused of carrying out a recent shooting attack were killed by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Friday morning, the Shin Bet security agency said, the latest in a series of
According to the Shin Bet, the pair, named as Khairi Shaheen, 34, and Hamza Maqbool, 32, were responsible for carrying out a shooting attack on Wednesday at a small Samaritan community south of Nablus, near the Jewish settlement of Har Bracha. No injuries were caused in the attack.
The Shin Bet said members of the elite police Yamam counterterrorism unit attempted to arrest Shaheen and Maqbool. "The two were killed during an exchange of fire with our forces," the agency said.
Two handguns allegedly used by the button men in the Wednesday attack were seized by Israeli forces.
In a separate operation in Nablus, the Israel Defense Forces said troops detained three wanted Paleostinians. Another three Paleostinian terror suspects were detained in other areas of the West Bank on Friday morning, the IDF said.
Early Friday morning, the IDF said troops measured the home of the Hamas gunman, Ahmed Yassin Ghaidan, in the village of Qibya, ahead of a potential demolition. Israel regularly demolishes the homes of Paleostinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks as a matter of policy.
The IDF said that festivities erupted in Qibya during the operation, with one soldier suffering light injuries after a stone was hurled at him by Paleostinian rioters. Troops responded with riot dispersal means, the IDF said.
Since the beginning of this year, Paleostinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have killed 25 people, including Thursday’s shooting.
According to a tally by The Times of Israel, 150 West Bank Paleostinians have been killed during that time — most of them during festivities with security forces or while carrying out attacks.