Israeli forces on Tuesday night mapped for possible demolition the Nablus home of the terrorist who shot and killed brothers Hallel Menachem and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv in nearby Huwara on Feb. 26.
The mapping operation involved the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Border Police.
The security forces also arrested 26 wanted terrorism suspects in raids across Judea and Samaria overnight as part of the “Break the Wave” campaign.
During the operation, the troops were shot at and explosives were thrown at them, with the soldiers returning fire.
“Tonight, the Samaria Brigade worked together with the security services to map the home of the terrorist who murdered the brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in Huwara about three weeks ago,” said Maj. David Turgeman, the Samaria Brigade’s engineering officer. “The mapping was done as part of a preparation for the demolition. This mission is necessary and of great importance and we will continue to act against those who seek to harm us.”
The two brothers were murdered while stuck in traffic on the Route 60 highway that runs through the Arab village.
The terrorist who carried out that attack, Hamas member Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha, was killed by IDF soldiers on March 7.
According to a public opinion poll conducted earlier this month, 71% of Palestinians support the murder of the Yanivs, with 21% of those surveyed saying they were against the attack.
Israel has stepped up security ahead of Ramadan, which begins on Thursday.
An Israeli man was lightly wounded on Wednesday in a stone-throwing attack on Jericho Road, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City.
Magen David Adom emergency medical service personnel took the 33-year-old victim to the city’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment.
On Sunday, another Palestinian terrorist opened fire at a car on Route 60 in Huwara, seriously injuring 41-year-old David Stern.
A dual Israeli-U.S. citizen from Itamar and a trainer of fast-response defense units made up of Jewish residents in Samaria, Stern served in the U.S. Marines Corps and is a martial arts expert, having trained in Japan.
Speaking from his hospital bed on Tuesday, Stern said he and his wife were driving to Jerusalem when the attack occurred. He recalled arriving at Huwara’s main square and stopping to allow a man—the terrorist—to cross the road. Stern said that he noticed that the man was “blocking one hand” in a suspicious way.
“I immediately started going for [my] gun. The terrorist turned in our direction, and we started shooting almost together. He shot at us, I shot at him, and I saw from the side window that after firing something like 10 bullets he ran away. I drove the car a few hundred meters and stopped. I started putting on a tourniquet and a bandage, and after a few minutes the ambulance arrived and they took me away to the hospital,” he said.
“We have to put back the checkpoints; we can’t continue like this. We survived the attack, but what will happen to the next family?” he said.
