Terrorists target Israeli soldiers in drive-by near Nablus
Terrorists fired from a passing vehicle at Israeli soldiers near Nablus (Shechem) on Sunday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Israeli forces, who were stationed at a military post, returned fire, and a search was launched for the shooters, according to the military.
The military post suffered damage, but no Israeli injuries were reported.
The shooting comes amid heightened tensions in Samaria following a series of deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks, including last week’s shooting at a restaurant near the town of Eli that killed four people and wounded four others.
On June 20, in response to the wave of attacks, dozens of Jews rioted in several Palestinian towns and villages, damaging several homes and businesses and injuring 36 people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The violence was condemned as terrorism by Israel’s security establishment.
The IDF Chief of Staff, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel’s national police commissioner said in a statement, “These attacks are against every moral and Jewish value and are also nationalistic terrorism in every way, and we are committed to fighting them.”
“The IDF, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police are committed to continuing to act with determination and with all the means at our disposal to maintain security and the law in Judea and Samaria,” they added. “The IDF will divert and increase forces to prevent incidents of this type, and the Shin Bet will also expand arrests, including administrative arrests against rioters who act in a violent and extremist manner in the Palestinian villages.”
The statement also called on the leaders and educators in the various communities to publicly denounce these acts of violence and to join the effort to fight against them.
Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor and Yesha Council Chairman Shlomo Ne’eman issued a statement in response, condemning vigilantism but expressing frustration at the increase in Palestinian terrorism and calling for the government to take action against Palestinian violence.
“After an unbearably difficult week, we see what is happening in Judea and Samaria and we don’t have a positive feeling about it. For more than a year, terrorism has been rampant in our streets and most recently has been increasing, and has reached a peak,” said Ne’eman.
“We demand that the IDF and the political echelon act with all of the tools at their disposal in order to strike at the terrorist infrastructure, including those who support, instigate and finance terrorism, and defeat them.
“Unfortunately, until now, it seems that these demands have not been met. The heroism of our fighters in order to neutralize the threats is extremely important, but it has not changed the de-facto security reality. Terrorism continues and is harming the state of Israel and her citizens.
“In this reality, a small handful of Jews, out of desperation and frustration, have taken the law into their own hands. We should not mimic our barbarous enemy, go wild and do harm indiscriminately. We have what the terrorists and their supporters do not have—a sense of humanity,” the statement continued.
Ne’eman concluded: “The residents of Judea and Samaria are not violent and don’t take the law into their own hands. And those who are criminals, should be dealt with to the full extent of the law.”
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