IDF continues to clamp down on West Bank after deadly terror attacks

The Israeli military continued to clamp down on the West Bank arresting dozens of Palestinians as security forces continue to search for a Hamas cell believed to be behind a string of deadly attacks which claimed the lives of three Israelis.

The IDF reinforced troops in the West Bank on Thursday with soldiers from the Golani brigade along with reinforcements from the Nahal Brigade.

The military believes that the overall atmosphere in the West Bank is tense and security forces have warned that Hamas is trying to carry out terror attacks with guidance from Gaza, Turkey and Lebanon.

Last Sunday a Palestinian terrorist linked to Hamas shot and injured seven Israeli civilians at a bus stop outside of the Ofra settlement, injuring seven. Among the injured was a pregnant woman who was forced to give birth prematurely. The baby boy died after three days.

On Thursday two soldiers were killed after a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a bus stop outside the outpost of Givat Asaf, a short distance down Route 60 from Ofra and escaped the scene with one of the soldier’s weapons. A third soldier, Netanel Felber, remains in serious condition at the Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem.

An investigation into the attacks near the West Bank settlements of Ofra and Givat Assaf this past week has shown that a single Hamas terror cell was responsible, with an automatic weapon used in both attacks.

While it is believed that Salah Barghouti acted as the shooter and his relative Wa’ad Barghouti drove the getaway car in the Ofra attack, another cell member is believed to have carried out the Givat Asaf attack.

Salah Barghouti, the son of a prominent Hamas member, was shot and killed Wednesday evening after he tried to attack troops while escaping arrest, the Shin Bet said.  Several additional Palestinians have been arrested in the villages of Surda and Silwad and according to Palestinian media undercover soldiers arrested his relative Mohamed Maher Barghouti in the town of Kobar near Ramallah overnight Saturday.

Former Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon attributed the increase of terror attacks in West Bank over the past week to the “weak” stance Israel took during the flare up in violence with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“Our weakness in the south, which began with the kite, led to attacks in Judea and Samaria,” Ya’alon told Army Radio on Sunday adding that  “we should’ve hit Hamas hard when it flew the fire kites into our territory. This was a violation of our sovereignty and it needed a tough response.”

According to Palestinian news agency WAFA, IDF troops also distributed leaflets in the village of Beit Ummar north of Hebron warning them to stop throwing stones at vehicles driven by Israelis.

The leaflets, the report said, threatened to impose financial penalties as well as the cancellation of work permits from relatives of those who pelt cars with stones,

Also on Saturday some 50 settlers held an illegal demonstration on the outskirts of Ramallah, and three were arrested after they began throwing stones at Palestinian homes. After they were arrested two soldiers from the 97th Netzah Yehuda Battalion, the IDF’s Orthodox Battalion, attempted to release them, leading to their suspension.

On Sunday the head of the IDF’s central command Maj.-Gen. Nadav Padan signed a demolition order for the apartment of the terrorist who murdered Ari Fuld in September which is on the top floor of a third-story building in the West Bank town of Yatta.

Fuld, 45, an American-Israeli, was stabbed to death by 17-year-old Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin in a terror attack in the central West Bank on September 16. A resident of the Efrat settlement, he was stabbed to death outside a shopping mall at the Gush Etzion junction near his home.

The family has until Dec. 18, 2018 to appeal to the High Court of Justice.

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