An Israeli Border Police officer was seriously wounded on Sunday morning during a raid to arrest a senior Palestinian terrorist in Tulkarem in western Samaria.
During the operation, forces encircled the hideout of Ahmed Awfi, who was involved in shooting attacks against IDF troops and Jewish communities located across the Green Line and is suspected of murdering Tulkarem residents accused of collaborating with Israel.
The troops applied a tactic known as a “pressure cooker,” which involves using live fire to induce a suspect to turn himself in.
A gun battle erupted and Awfi was subsequently killed and his weapon seized.
In a separate raid, Israeli troops also detained a senior Hamas terrorist in Ramallah, while two additional wanted men were arrested in the Balata camp on the eastern outskirts of Nablus. The suspects were transferred to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) for questioning.
Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, Israeli forces have arrested over 3,100 wanted persons throughout the Judea and Samaria, more than 1,350 of whom are affiliated with Hamas.
מסתערבי מג״ב איו"ש פעלו בהכוונה מודיעינית של שב״כ ובשיתוף עם כוחות צה"ל למעצרו של אחמד עופי, מבוקש בכיר בטול כרם שבחטיבת מנשה.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 18, 2024
עופי היה מעורב בפיגועי ירי לעבר כוחות צה״ל ויישובים ישראלים, וכן חשוד כמעורב ברציחת תושבי טול כרם החשודים בשיתוף פעולה עם כוחות ביטחון ישראליים>> pic.twitter.com/y3yFcGTIm9
On Tuesday, Israeli forces thwarted a Palestinian vehicular assault at the Gush Etzion Junction, south of Bethlehem and about 10 miles from Jerusalem.
Following a pursuit, soldiers subdued and arrested the assailant, and took him to a hospital for treatment. No other injuries were reported. A knife was found during a search of the terrorist’s vehicle.
Last on Sunday, a police officer was lightly wounded in a stabbing at the Lions’ Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli security forces neutralized the assailant.
Also last Sunday, a Palestinian terrorist tried to stab Israel Defense Forces soldiers at the Hussan Junction near the ultra-Orthodox city of Beitar Illit in Judea. No casualties were reported in the incident and the terrorist was neutralized.
On Friday, a terrorist shot and killed two Israelis and wounded four others at a bus stop near the Re’em Masmiya Junction, near Kiryat Malachi in the northern Negev.
Police said the terrorist arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on people waiting for a bus. A civilian at the scene shot and killed him.
Israeli media identified the assailant as an Arab from Shuafat in northeastern Jerusalem.
“This attack reminds us that the entire country is on the frontline and that the murderers, who come not only from Gaza, want to kill us all,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will continue to fight until total victory, with all our might, on every front, everywhere, until we restore the security and quiet for all citizens of Israel,” he added.
