West Bank20 September, 20263 min read
Israeli Forces Arrest Shooting Suspect After Halamish Settler Killed Near Ramallah
Palestinian gunman shot dead an Israeli settler near Halamish (Neve Tsuf) northwest of Ramallah. Israeli forces launched a manhunt and arrested the alleged attacker after the shooting.
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Halamish shooting, arrests
An Israeli settler was killed in a Palestinian shooting operation near the Halamish settlement, northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after the attacker opened fire from inside a vehicle bearing Palestinian license plates at settlers near a water spring before withdrawing. Israeli occupation forces later raided a hospital in Ramallah’s Al-Irsal neighborhood after reports that an injured person believed to be the attacker was inside, and the forces said they had “arrested the perpetrator of the shooting operation in the central West Bank.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the army and Shin Bet to reinforce forces in the West Bank, impose closures, and carry out attacks and arrest campaigns to safeguard Israel’s security, and he ordered immediate measures to demolish the home of the perpetrator of the shooting operation in Halamish. Israeli occupation forces imposed a complete closure on the area where the shooting occurred and set up checkpoints, and they also surrounded Abdullah bin Jaber Mosque in the town during afternoon prayers.
Ben-Gvir death penalty
Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the death penalty for a Palestinian gunman who fatally shot an Israeli settler, as Israeli forces stormed a hospital in Ramallah in a manhunt for the suspected attacker.
Ben-Gvir also demanded the death penalty for terrorists in a statement that said, “The law is the law... and this is the moment. Now, execute him.”
Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said the army remained on maximum alert and would impose lockdown and conduct investigations to reach everyone who aided the perpetrator, and he added, “We will impose lockdown... and conduct investigations that will enable us to reach everyone who aided the perpetrator.”
Hamas welcomed the shooting operation near the Halamish settlement west of Ramallah, describing it as a “powerful and practical response” to recent statements and provocations by Netanyahu, and the Al-Quds Brigades praised the attack and called on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and Al-Quds to join a comprehensive escalation of the confrontation.
Raids, closures, wider violence
Israeli forces also carried out what was described as a new field execution near the Ganim checkpoint east of Jenin in the northern West Bank, after they opened fire on two Palestinian men, killing one and injuring the other, claiming they had been attempting to carry out a ramming attack. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the young man was killed by Israeli occupation forces and said his body was being withheld near the Ganim checkpoint, while the Israeli army said its forces killed a Palestinian driver who tried to ram them near the Ganin settlement.
Israeli Channel 7 said dozens of brigades and special units were to be deployed in settlements and on roads, in parallel with imposing a siege on several villages in Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, and it added that the anticipated operations included arresting Palestinians suspected of aiding the perpetrator, raiding the village from which he originated, and sweeping his home in preparation for demolition. Settlers’ attacks across the West Bank were described as escalating, with the Israeli-Arab channel reporting assaults on Palestinians and their property including attacking vehicles, burning several of them, storming an agricultural facility, uprooting olive trees, and establishing a new settler outpost on agricultural lands.