A Palestinian terrorist, who sought to infiltrate the town of Kedumim, killed an Israeli man on Thursday.
Magen David Adom emergency medical personnel treated the victim at the scene, some six miles west of Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria, before pronouncing him dead. Initial reports said that the victim was a member of the security forces.
He has since been named as Staff Sgt. Shilo Yosef Amir, 22, a member of the Givati Brigade from Meirav in northern Israel.
The shooting took place between the Git Junction and Mitzpe Yishai. The latter is an “outpost” of Kedumim located to the south of the main town. The terrorist, who used a “Carlo”-type submachine gun, was shot dead near Git.
In a statement claiming responsibility, Hamas’ Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that its operative Ahmed Yassin Ghaidan, from the village of Qibya near Ramallah, was the attacker.
The missive also warned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, claiming that “the al-Qassam Brigades almost knocked on your door.” Smotrich lives in Kedumim with his wife and seven children.
Israeli authorities believe the terrorist acted alone, and the IDF Home Front Command lifted its order for residents to remain home.
“Following the report of the shooting attack near Kedumim, the security forces identified a suspicious vehicle for inspection,” an IDF spokesperson stated. “During the inspection, a terrorist who was in the vehicle opened fire at them. The forces responded by shooting back but the terrorist escaped.”
“IDF soldiers and civilian security personnel began a pursuit of the terrorist, charged, and neutralized him,” the spokesperson added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Thursday urged countries worldwide to condemn rampant Palestinian terrorism.
“I am calling on the international community to condemn the Palestinian Authority, which supports terror and pays the murderers of Jews,” he said.
“The State of Israel will continue to fight against terror vigorously and with a heavy hand,” he added.
On Tuesday, an Israeli soldier was killed in Jenin, as the IDF withdrew from the Samaria city following an intensive two-day counterterrorism operation.
Chief Sgt. David Yehuda Yitzchak, 23, a non-commissioned officer from the Egoz commando unit, was treated for a gunshot wound at the scene. He was evacuated to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
Earlier Tuesday, a Palestinian terrorist drove his car into pedestrians at a bus stop on Pinchas Rosen Street in Tel Aviv’s northeastern Ramat Hahayal neighborhood.
He then got out of the vehicle and stabbed additional victims with a sharp object, police said. There were seven victims in total. A pregnant woman, fighting for her life in the hospital, lost her baby.
On Monday, a 14-year-old Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak. The victim was evacuated in moderate condition to Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in the city, which is located east of Tel Aviv.
Last month, four Israelis were killed and four were wounded in a shooting near the town of Eli in the Binyamin region of Samaria.
The attack took place at the entrance to a restaurant at a gas station on Route 60 located below Eli, which is north of Ramallah and south of Nablus.