Israeli man wounded in Qalqilya terror attack

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the gunman opened fire near a car repair shop in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city.

By Joshua Marks, JNS

A Jewish Israeli man was shot and seriously wounded in Qalqilya in western Samaria on Monday evening. Two Palestinians were also wounded in the attack, and the terrorist was killed by Israeli forces.

The Israeli civilian was taken to Meir Medical Center in nearby Kfar Saba in central Israel after initial treatment at Darwish Nazzal Hospital in Qalqilya, where his condition was stabilized, Channel 14 reported.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the gunman opened fire near a car repair shop in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city. Israeli forces caught the shooter just outside the city as he attempted to flee.

The P.A. identified the terrorist as Tariq Daoud, 18, and said that his body was being held by Israeli authorities. According to Hamas, he was a “field commander” in the terrorist group’s military wing.

Daoud was released from prison as part of last November’s ceasefire deal with the Gaza-based terrorist group that saw Palestinian security prisoners released for Israeli civilians captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel.

Since his release, Israeli forces have raided his home many times as he immediately returned to terrorist activity, according to Channel 14 reporter Hillel Biton Rosen.

The commander of the IDF’s Efraim Regional Brigade, Col. Netanel Shamaka, led the pursuit of Daoud and the terrorist was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire near the Palestinian town of Azzun.

Israelis are barred from entering areas of Judea and Samaria controlled by the P.A., but some do so anyway as the prices for goods and services are significantly lower there than in Israel.

Amnon Muchtar, 66, from Petach Tikvah in central Israel, was shot and killed in Qalqilya in June. The father of five reportedly owned a vegetable store and was said to have traveled to Qalqilya to buy produce.

“The IDF emphasizes that the entrance of Israeli civilians into Area A is dangerous and prohibited by law,” the military said on Monday night.

The two terrorists who murdered Muchtar were later eliminated by Israel forces in Tulkarem.

Surge in terrorism since Oct. 7

On Sunday, Israeli Yonatan Deutsch, 23, from the city of Beit She’an, was murdered in a terrorist shooting on Route 90 in the northern Jordan Valley.

The two latest attacks are part of a surge in terrorism since Oct. 7. A total of 338 attacks have taken place since the war began, mostly in Judea and Samaria (89%), killing 28 people and wounded another 256, according to data compiled by Channel 12.

Security forces have thwarted more than a thousand significant attacks and arrested thousands of terrorists in recent months.

The 338 attacks represent an average of 34 per month. The number of attacks this year represents a jump of 82% compared to 2022 and 9% over 2023, which was a record year for the number of attacks.

More than 100 terrorist attacks have been foiled per month, a 65% increase compared to 2023 before the war.

Three percent of the attacks were in Jerusalem and 8% elsewhere in Israel.

Sixty-eight percent were shootings, 17% stabbings, 4% vehicular assaults, 8% bombings and 3% other attacks.

Security forces arrested approximately 4,400 wanted persons in Judea and Samaria and the Bekaa, of which more than 1,850 were identified as Hamas terrorists. About 1,400 wanted persons were arrested in the month of October alone.