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Palestinian woman killed after opening fire on Israelis with M-16

The Palestinian woman opened fire with an M-16 rifle at the entrance to Kiryat Arba. She was shot and killed by security forces.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

A Palestinian woman who opened fire at the entrance to the town of Kiryat Arba south of Jerusalem was shot dead by Israeli security forces, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office said Wednesday.

Dressed in a long robe dress and head covering, the woman approached the main entrance to Kiryat Arba on the Jerusalem-Hebron road and opened fire with an M-16 assault rifle.

“The terrorist started shooting while advancing towards IDF troops and civilians who were at a bus stop at the junction. Two IDF soldiers fired towards her and neutralized her. No IDF injuries were reported,” the IDF said.

Palestinian media were quick to try and make capital out of the shooting, posting pictures of the woman’s body with the weapon on the ground nearby and claiming the shooting was faked by a “settler” in order to to kill an innocent Palestinian.

“Some reports, however, said an Israeli settler from Kiryat Arba was the one who shot and killed her and then left his M-16 automatic rifle near her body to prove that she was intending to wage an attack,” the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

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However, video from the security cameras at the site of the shooting clearly documented the attack, showing the woman brandishing and firing the M-16 before she was shot by soldiers.

It was the second armed attack in the Hebron area in as many days after a heavily armed Palestinian failed to inflict any damage when he tried to shoot soldiers on Tuesday and throw an explosive at them.

It is not clear how and why the woman gained possession of the M-16, a valuable commodity on the black market, nor who showed her how to use it.

The amateurish attack by the woman may have been a case of a suicide-by-IDF.

An Israeli army study in 2017 revealed that some Palestinians carry out attacks not for political ideology, but due to depression, family strife or economic woes.

The Palestinians carry out the attacks in order “to escape their bitter fate and get the recognition of ‘the martyr,’ which will absolve them of all wrongdoing or unusual behaviors, and death will possibly provide their family with financial benefits—receiving compensation from the Palestinian Authority and therefore, not subjecting the family to burdens,” according to the study.

The Palestinian Authority classifies the dead woman as a “martyr” for having been killed by the IDF in an attack and will now pay her family a monthly cash stipend under their pay-for-slay program.