News
Substantial terror attacks thwarted
[ssba]
In Maale Adumim: on Wednesday evening, Udai Tamimi arrived on foot at the entrance of Maale Adumim and opened fire with a handgun at the security guards.
- Footage of the incident captured on CCTV showed a minute long gun fight at the entrance to the town. Tamimi was able to fire 10 shots before he was killed.
- He was also carrying a grenade that he failed to release.
- The Regional Police Commander later praised the alertness and bravery of the security guard, who was lightly wounded, noting, “a major disaster was averted.”
- There had been a manhunt for Tamimi for the last 11 days, as he was also responsible for the shooting at the Shuafat checkpoint, in which Sergeant Noa Lazar was killed and a civilian security guard was seriously wounded.
- Hamas praised the attack saying, “The hero of the martyrs, Udai Tamimi, will remain a Palestinian national icon who represents the courage of the Palestinian in his struggle against the occupier, and the heroism of the warrior who is ready to sacrifice everything.”
- Maale Adumin is one of the largest Jewish settlements, less than five miles east of Jerusalem.
- One of the suspects, was a software engineer for Cellcom, (one of the biggest mobile phone companies).
- He met with senior Hamas operatives in Turkey several times over the last few years and shared sensitive information that he had privileged access to.
- According to the indictment they had planned to disrupt various components of Cellcom’s infrastructure during war or military operations, “out of their common desire to help the armed Palestinian struggle against Israel.”
- A senior police official told Kan Radio that this was an act, “the likes of which had never been seen before. Hamas received tools and information that it was planning to use soon. We were very close to a catastrophe.”
In Hawara: In an incident of a different nature, dozens of settlers entered the Palestinian town of Hawara and threw stones at Palestinian vehicles.
- IDF troops arrived on the scene to disperse the demonstrators and were themselves violently attacked by the settlers, several of whom used pepper spray against the soldiers.
- So far, two settlers have been arrested. One of whom was an off duty IDF soldier who lives on a nearby settlement.
- The incident drew widespread condemnation, of which there have several similar incidents of settler violence towards Palestinians in the last two weeks.
- Prime Minister Yair Lapid said: “The Jewish rioters who violently attacked IDF troops…in Hawara are dangerous criminals who need to be excoriated and they need to be prosecuted without hesitation and with the fullest severity. They endanger the lives of our troops and they harm the State of Israel.”
- Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu: “I vehemently condemn the violence against IDF soldiers and call on the security forces to prosecute the rioters. I also protest against the attempt to disparage a large public of settlers because of the actions of a few individuals. The absolute majority of settlers obey the law, serve in the IDF and are deeply grateful to our troops who defend us all.”
- Even Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, wrote on twitter, “One doesn’t raise a hand against IDF soldiers. Period.”
Looking ahead: Security forces remain on high alert, Defence Minister Gantz said, “The main operational effort is being invested in northern Samaria, in the Nablus and Jenin area. The State of Israel cannot afford attacks and attempted shootings, and if the attacks don’t stop, I intend to expand the offensive efforts in these areas.”
- The military blockade of the Nablus area remains in place, understood to be part of the ongoing quiet coordination between the IDF and the Palestinian Authority Security Forces.
- There is an ongoing manhunt for the gunman that killed Staff Sergeant Ido Baruch, near the settlement of Shavei Shomron.
For more on recent West Bank violence, including context, see last week’s update: Concern over violence spreading in West Bank and East Jerusalem