Israeli Killed in West Bank Shooting Attack, Assailant Shot Dead

Facts

• A Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli near the northern West Bank Kdumim settlement, adjacent to the Palestinian city of Nablus, on Thursday, with the shooter eventually being tracked down and "neutralized" by the Israeli military.¹
• Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the shooter as Ahmad Yasin Hillal Gheithan, from a village near Ramallah. The Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for Israel's raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin earlier this week.²
• The Israeli military said the gunman was stopped by security forces near the settlement to inspect his vehicle before he opened fire, killing a soldier. Hamas warned controversial Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in Kdumim, that "the al-Qassam Brigades almost knocked on your door."³
• Palestinian sources said Israeli forces subsequently arrested the shooter's brother and father at their village.⁴
• The raid that occurred from Monday into Tuesday this week was Israel's largest military operation in the West Bank in two decades and included armored vehicles, drones, and around 1K troops. Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians — some of whom were confirmed to be militants — and injured over 100.⁵
• The situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza has deteriorated in the last year as Israel, following a spree of Palestinian attacks last year, has launched regular raids in the area, primarily in the north. Over 140 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank, and Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis have killed at least 25 people.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters (a), ²Al Jazeera, ³The Times of Israel, ⁴Barrons, ⁵Reuters (b), and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. The Israeli soldiers near Kedumim handled this situation well, and their actions likely prevented the death of civilians. Israeli forces in the West Bank will have to stay alert for Palestinian terrorists whose only goal has been and continues to be killing Israeli civilians.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Considering that this attack was explicitly retaliation for the Jenin raid, it's ultimately Israel that needs to be held responsible for violence in the holy land, not Palestinians who are only seeking freedom. Attacks like this will, unfortunately, continue as long as Israel continues its brutal occupation that kills Palestinians on a near-daily basis.