Two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed after they opened fire on Israeli forces in the northern West Bank on Saturday morning, the army and the militant group said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, a passing vehicle opened fire on soldiers operating near the village of Jaba, south of Jenin. The IDF said that soldiers fired back at the car and targeted several suspects.
In a brief statement, PIJ said members of a local branch based in Jabba opened fire on Israeli forces in the area.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said two people died in the incident, 24-year-old Izz-e-Din Bassem Hammara and 23-year-old Amjad Adnan Khaliliya.
They were identified by the Palestinian media as members of the PIJ.
Palestinian media outlets published footage of the car apparently involved in the attempted attack. The window panes could be seen broken and the seats were covered in blood.
#health
Two young men, Aj al-Din Bassem Hammara (24 years old) and Amjad Adnan Khaliliya (23 years old), were killed by captured bullets during the assault on the city of Jabba, south of the city. #fetus pic.twitter.com/EUFEJO2Tsn— Momen Faiz (@momenfaiz) January 14, 2023
#urgent Local sources: An Israeli special force opened fire on a car in the town of Jabba, south of Jenin, and two youths were reported killed pic.twitter.com/NblpKEYxDh
– Safa Agency (@SafaPs) January 14, 2023
The IDF said troops searching the area found an M16 rifle used by one of the gunmen.
The IDF said that no Israeli soldiers were hurt in the attack.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted military posts, soldiers working along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the streets.
An M16 assault rifle is found near the West Bank village of Jabba following a shooting attack against Israeli soldiers on January 14, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Separately, early Saturday, a Palestinian man died two weeks after being seriously wounded by gunfire during clashes, as troops worked to demolish the homes of two gunmen who killed an army officer last year .
Ibn Sina Hospital in the southern city of Jenin said in a statement that 19-year-old Yazan al-Jabri died of wounds he sustained on January 2. The PA Health Ministry has also confirmed his death.
Two Palestinian gunmen were also killed during that firefight.
The IDF said at the time that during the operation in Kafr Dan, north of Jenin, there was “massive shelling” by Palestinian gunmen.
The IDF said, “The troops responded with riot gear and fired upon several armed men who fired at them,” adding that the suspects were killed.
The village is the hometown of two Palestinian gunmen who carried out the deadly attack on the West Bank security barrier on September 14, killing 30-year-old Nahal Reconnaissance Unit deputy commander Major Bar Falah.
Major Bar Falah, 30, deputy commander of the elite Nahal reconnaissance unit, who was killed in a gunfight with two terrorists near the West Bank security fence on September 14, 2022. (courtesy: family)
Israel routinely demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks as a matter of policy. The efficacy of the measure has also been hotly debated within the Israeli security establishment, while human rights activists condemn the practice as unjustified collective punishment.
A military investigation into Falah’s death pointed “errors” Made by soldiers who detected the suspects near a military post and went to investigate, but failed to realize they were armed and were caught unawares by their initial volley of fire, which hit Falah .
The incidents took place during an Israeli anti-terrorist offensive, mostly focused on the northern West Bank, to deal with a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 31 people in 2022.
The IDF’s operation has made more than 2,500 arrests in almost nightly raids. It also killed more than 170 Palestinians in 2022, and killed 12 more since the start of the year, many of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, though some were unrelated civilians.
