An armed Palestinian terrorist infiltrated the Israeli community of Telem in the Hebron Hills overnight Tuesday and roamed through the village for 15 minutes before fleeing as security forces tried to arrest him.
Telem’s security team noticed the suspect as he entered the community and monitored him throughout the incident. When its members tried to detain him, he jumped the fence.
During a manhunt in the area, Israel Defense Forces troops found a knife and explosives apparently left behind by the terrorist.
“Overnight, security forces of the town of Telem in the Judea Brigade [area of responsibility] thwarted an intrusion into the town,” the IDF said, adding that “forces arrived following the discovery of a suspect near one of the entrances to the town and fired into the air, after which the suspect fled.
“Forces carried out searches in the area, during which various items were found around the site of the breach. There are no casualties, and the IDF continues to pursue the terrorist,” the statement said.
Judea and Samaria activist Elisha Yered said a severe attack was foiled.
“At around 2.40 a.m., a terrorist tried to enter Telem, and fled back to the [Arab] village of Tarqumiyah after being discovered by security forces,” he tweeted, adding that six improvised explosive devices were found.
Last week, a terrorist infiltration alert was issued in the Israeli community of Almon (or Anatot), near Jerusalem in Samaria, after unidentified persons entered and stole a firearm from a house.
Judea and Samaria saw a dramatic rise in Palestinian terrorist attacks in 2023 compared to the previous year, with shootings reaching their highest level since the Second Intifada of 2000-05, according to IDF data.
