Israel arrests Palestinian attacker who killed security guard
Jerusalem. The Israeli military says it has arrested two Palestinian attackers who shot and killed a security guard at the entrance of a ghetto in the West Bank. The arrests were made in the aftermath of the attack on the West Bank late Friday. Israeli troops, special forces and border police arrested two suspects and recovered weapons from them. These weapons were recovered from Karawat Bani Hasan village. This attack could further aggravate the already ongoing Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
The Israeli army said the attackers arrived at the entrance to the Ariel settlement early on Saturday, shot the security guard at its post and then fled. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed condolences to the family of the security guard. “No terrorist can escape us,” he said in a statement after the arrests of the suspects. Israeli forces on Saturday searched for two Palestinian attackers who shot and killed a security guard at the entrance of the ghetto. Launched a search operation in the northern West Bank.
The military said a security guard was shot by two assailants in a car late Friday night outside Ariel, a major settlement in the northern West Bank. It said that the guard was standing in front of another guard which saved his life. The military said Israeli forces set up checkpoints on Saturday and were searching for the attackers in the area. The military said it had arrested two alleged members of the Hamas group, but there was no immediate indication that they were involved in the attack. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 27-year-old Palestinian man during a clash in the village of Ajoun near the city of Qalqilya early Saturday. In the past two months, 15 Israelis have been killed in a series of Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank.
At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks by Israeli security forces. Hamas, the extremist group that governs Gaza, praised the attack but declined to take responsibility. Spokesman Hajim Qasim said, “The operation proves that the revolution is sweeping the entire West Bank. It is a practical implementation of the declaration of our people that Jerusalem is a red line.” Tension at a major holy site in Jerusalem escalated this month as Palestinians clashed daily with Israeli police. The site houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, and during Ramadan, the holy month of Muslims, Palestinians visit it in large numbers for prayers. Earlier on Friday, Palestinians pelted stones and Israeli police fired rubber bullets. The site has seen unrest in recent weeks.
Police said Palestinians pelted stones around dawn in the direction of the heavily guarded gate inside the al-Aqsa mosque complex and began hurling firecrackers toward the Western Wall, where Jews can pray. The police moved towards the premises and fired rubber bullets. The Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Service said more than 40 people were injured, 22 of whom required treatment at local hospitals. It said Israeli soldiers previously barred medical workers from entering the compound during the conflict, and that one of its doctors was beaten up by police.
