The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday night that it had eliminated a terrorist wanted in connection with the murder of two IDF soldiers in a car-ramming attack near Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria 18 months ago.
Ala Raouf Shetiyya fled after carrying out the May 29, 2024, vehicular assault, in which IDF Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, 20, from Tel Zion, and Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj, 20, from Tel Aviv, were mortally injured.
On Monday, IDF soldiers, operating alongside Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers, eliminated the terrorist, who was armed and hiding inside a building, with “precise fire,” the IDF said.
According to Monday evening’s statement, the IDF and Israel Security Agency conducted a “continuous intelligence effort” over the past year and a half, which resulted in the operation that eliminated Shetiyya.
As part of Monday’s operation, several collaborators who assisted the terrorist were apprehended for questioning by IDF soldiers, it stated.
The Jewish state’s security forces “continue to conduct extensive efforts to thwart terrorism and to confront anyone who harms or attempts to harm Israeli civilians and security forces,” the statement concluded.
Shetiyya reportedly turned himself in to Palestinian Authority police in Nablus shortly after running over and fatally injuring the two soldiers.
However, instead of being transferred to the Israel Defense Forces under agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the terrorist was released from custody and moved into hiding, allegedly with the assistance of operatives of Ramallah’s General Intelligence Service, Israel’s Channel 14 News reported in the aftermath of the attack.
The governor of Nablus told the terrorist’s family that the P.A. could no longer shelter him due to Israeli threats to launch an arrest raid on the police station, Channel 14 correspondent Baruch Yedid reported.
An inquiry to the IDF about the reports went unanswered at the time, with the military referring JNS to the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, which did not respond to questions on the matter.
Almost 80 members of the U.S.-trained and armed Palestinian Authority forces have been implicated in terror attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel between 2021 and 2023, according to research by the Jerusalem-based Regavim Movement think tank published last year.
In addition, the Hamas terrorist organization has managed to recruit dozens of P.A. operatives, using them as combatants and intelligence sources, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported in mid-2023.
In a separate statement on Tuesday morning, the IDF announced it had eliminated the Palestinian terrorist who hammered to death Gidon Peri, 38, a father of three and a resident of Samaria, on Aug. 18, 2024.
Sultan al-Ghani was eliminated in an exchange of fire, the military said, adding that five people who assisted him were arrested for questioning.
“Following a search in the structure, the soldiers located a ‘Carlo’ style weapon, an M16 weapon, explosives and magazines with ammunition,” it said. “Israeli security forces continue counterterrorism efforts against anyone who harms or tries to harm Israeli civilians and security forces.”
