Israeli security forces have arrested a Palestinian suspected of carrying out a hit-and-run earlier this month that killed an Israel Defense Forces soldier, the military said on Saturday.
תיעוד ממצלמות הקסדה של לוחמי דובדבן בחטיבת שומרון ממעצר הנהג בתאונה שבה נהרג סמל נתנאל איילה ז"ל
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 16, 2026
מוקדם יותר השבוע, לוחמי יחידת דובדבן עצרו את הנהג שפגע וברח בתאונה הקטלנית סמוך לכפר לובאן א-שרקייה בתחילת החודש, בה נהרג לוחם צה"ל סמל נתנאל איילה ז"ל.
כוחות היחידה בהכוונת מודיעין… pic.twitter.com/S0DZMT8RWu
Sgt. Netanel Ayala, 20, from the southern Samaria community of Ofra, was killed on May 3 when an Arab driver struck his motorcycle in a head-on collision on the Route 60 highway, near the village of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya.
The offending driver abandoned his car, which had been stolen from Tel Aviv several days prior, and fled into the village on foot, according to the Israel Police.
Last week, troops of the IDF’s Duvdevan commando unit, guided by the police and Military Intelligence Directorate, raided Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and arrested the suspect, the army said on Saturday.
The Israel Police told Knesset lawmakers in 2024 that of some 50,000 traffic tickets issued in Judea and Samaria annually, 70% go to Palestinian violators.
Police representatives said that 79% of tickets issued to Arabs in the region go unpaid. Some vehicles accumulate 20 or 30 tickets, and Palestinians disregard them, they said.
