Israeli undercover forces blended into the bustling Shechem (Nablus) market to arrest a dangerous Fatah terrorist tied to Lions’ Den IED attacks, recovering a knife on him during the arrest.

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Coalition leaders call for permanent Jewish return to Shechem site, 25 years after IDF withdrawal. Military plan to be presented Thursday.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

In a move described as both historic and unprecedented, 62 Israeli government ministers and Knesset members—including most of the Security Cabinet—have signed a formal appeal demanding the immediate return of a permanent Jewish presence to Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem.

The joint statement comes exactly 25 years after Israel’s withdrawal from the site, known in Hebrew as Kever Yosef, following the outbreak of the Second Intifada in October 2000, according to Israel National News.

The signatories include high-profile ministers such as Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Culture Minister Miri Regev, and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin.

They assert that Israel has a moral and historical duty to restore access and sovereignty over the compound.

“Joseph’s Tomb is one of the most significant historical and spiritual sites for the Jewish people,” the statement read. “Its abandonment led to an escalation in terrorism and ultimately sparked the Second Intifada. This mistake must be corrected.”

Citing the Oslo Accords, the ministers and MKs emphasized that the agreement promised continued Jewish access to the site and even committed to restoring the yeshiva that had operated there.

“Leaving the site to terrorist control was a historic stain. It’s time for Israel to take responsibility,” the statement said.

The announcement coincides with a scheduled meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s subcommittee on Judea and Samaria.

At that meeting, IDF Central Command is expected to present a concrete plan to reinstate a Jewish presence at the tomb.

If approved, the plan will advance for political implementation.

The push for renewed presence has gained momentum over the past six months. It is led by Rabbi David Ben Natan, whose son, Shoval, was killed in recent fighting.

Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and MK Zvi Sukkot have also been at the forefront of the campaign.

Dozens of mayors, council heads, and grassroots activists have joined the initiative.

Dagan praised the unified political support, saying, “The people demand a historical correction. After 25 years of abandonment, we are closer than ever to restoring sovereignty at Joseph’s Tomb. This is a moment of truth — the Israeli government must fulfill its promise and implement the plan now. It’s not just our right — it’s a national obligation.”

Sukkot, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, echoed that sentiment.

“Tomorrow, the IDF will present the practical plan. I pledge to do everything in my power to secure political approval. The full support of the Cabinet and coalition ministers is not only meaningful—it is historic.”

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When initially captured, Bana tried to escape from Israeli troops who then shot him in the leg. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The IDF announced it has arrested Mahmoud al-Bana, a high-profile terrorist in Nablus (Shechem), Samaria, who was once the head of the Lions’ Den terrorist group.

When initially captured, Bana tried to escape from Israeli troops who then shot him in the leg.

Before the arrest, Israeli soldiers, dressed like Palestinians, drove a PA vehicle to trick Bana.

The Lions’ Den terror group was formed in 2022, separate from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. That same year, Bana surrendered to the Palestinian Authority but was later released.

Although the Lions’ Den is mainly associated with Nablus, there are branches nationwide.

“The Lions managed to escape the watchful eye of the Israeli Shin Bet and proved that both the Palestinian Authority, the Americans and the Shin Bet cannot stand up to the new spirit of resistance,” a source in Nablus told TPS.

The “Lions” receive backing from Hamas and operate under its leadership.

Many of the young commanders in this new group are Hamas members, and, as described by the source, “the brain is Hamas, and the hands are Fatah.”

The source characterized the Lion’s Den as an “enhanced version of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade – Fatah activists working under Hamas.”

“In 2000, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs operated in coordination with Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards and also in coordination with Hamas, but today, the situation is different and Hamas plays a much more significant role in the establishment of the armed organization,” he explained.

However, “it is not possible to reveal all the things nor the extent of the involvement of Hamas.”

The group’s members are of the generation born and raised after the armed intifada of 2000.

They include young people who have entirely despaired of the Palestinian leadership and the Fatah leadership. Still, according to the source, this is the only factor capable of uniting all parts of the Palestinian people and motivating them to action.

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Palestinian terrorist who murdered two IDF soldiers now at large, after having surrendered himself to PA police.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The Palestinian Arab terrorist responsible for running down and killing two Israeli soldiers in a ramming attack last week is out of custody, several Palestinian Authority officials said Sunday.

On May 29th, IDF Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, 20, and Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj, 20, were fatally injured when a car ran them down outside of the entrance to Itamar, an Israeli town near Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria.

The driver, Abed Rauf Shteyeh, 30, from Shechem, surrendered himself to the Palestinian Security Services (PSS), the paramilitary force which serves both as the police force and intelligence agency for the Palestinian Authority.

Hundreds of Israeli residents of Samaria gathered outside Shechem the day after the attack to demand Shteyeh’s extradition to Israel.

On Sunday, however, two PA officials informed the Tazpit Press Service that Shteyeh was not being held by the PSS, and is currently at large.

An aide to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and a PSS official both told TPS that Shteyeh had indeed entered a PA police station to surrender himself.

PSS officers, however, refused to take Shteyeh into custody, saying that they could not take responsibility for his safety, the two officials said.

One Palestinian Authority official cited by TPS said Ramallah is hesitant to take wanted terrorists into custody, fearing reprisals from Israel.

The officers recommended that Shteyeh turn himself in to the IDF, they said.

Undaunted, Shteyeh and his family turned to the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence agency, led by Colonel Majid Faraj, who is charged with security coordination with the IDF.

Unable to reach an agreement with the General Intelligence agency, Shteyeh went into hiding, and remains at large.

Israeli security forces have launched a manhunt for Shteyeh, with a senior IDF official vowing to bring him in dead or alive.

“He was indeed not handed over to Israel and he is behaving as expected,” the officer told TPS. “We will soon put our hands on him either alive in handcuffs or in a coffin.”

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What happens when Palestinian police have control over a Jewish holy site?

By Moshe Phillips

When is it a crime for a Jew to pray at a Jewish holy site? When the Palestinian Authority’s police are in charge, that’s when.

Here’s what happened: a handful of Jews attempted to pray at the Tomb of Joseph, in Shechem (Nablus), on the Passover holiday—something that the Oslo Accords specifically permit.

Look at Appendix 4 of the Oslo II accord, which the Palestinian Authority and Israel signed in September 1995. It lists two sites in PA-governed territory as “Jewish Holy Sites”: “1. Joseph’s Tomb (Nablus); 2. Shalom Al Israel Synagogue (Jericho).”

Article V(2)(b) of the Oslo II agreement then explains that those sites “will be under the responsibility of the Palestinian Police,” who are required “to ensure free, unimpeded and secure access to the relevant Jewish holy site.”

The PA police are obligated “to ensure the peaceful use of such a site, to prevent any potential instances of disorder and to respond to any incident.”

Yet what we saw last week was the exact opposite. In a video shown on social media, the arrested Jewish worshippers can be seen sitting against a wall, surrounded by heavily armed PA policemen. They are shouting in Arabic and kicking the Jews.

Imagine for a moment that a group of Muslim worshippers tried to reach some Muslim religious site within Israel—a site to which access was guaranteed in an Israeli-Palestinian treaty.

And imagine if, instead of letting the worshippers go to their site, the Israeli police arrested them, kicked them, and screamed at them in Hebrew.

It would be the lead story on CNN all day long. It would be front page news around the world. The United Nations Security Council would have an emergency meeting to denounce Israel.

Now what was the response to PA police officers violently assaulting Jews for trying to exercise their Oslo-guaranteed right to pray at a Jewish holy site on a major Jewish holiday?

Silence, of course.

Silence from the international news media. Silence from the UN, and the so-called human rights groups. Silence from left-wing Jewish groups such as J Street, Americans for Peace Now, and Partners for Progressive Israel—all of whom would be shrieking in protest if Muslim worshippers were treated that way by the Israeli police.

Perhaps most disturbing is the silence of the Biden administration and its Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt.

A year ago, the Biden administration published what it called its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. And Ambassador Lipstadt’s job, every single day, is to combat antisemitism.

Yet when Jews are arrested and assaulted by police officers for the “crime” of trying to pray at their holy site, these so-called fighters against antisemitism are silent.

The Biden administration’s awful silence sends a message to the Palestinian Authority that it can violently mistreat Jewish worshippers, with no consequences.

Biden continues to push for a Palestinian state, continues to pressure Israel to cease firing at terrorists, and continues sending hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayers’ money to the Palestinian Arabs—including to the very PA police force that is abusing Jewish worshippers.

Just this past week, U.S. officials said they are considering imposing sanctions on an Israeli army unit that they claim has been too rough on Palestinian terrorist suspects.

Yet they did not say a word about the Palestinian Authority’s policemen who can be seen on video assaulting innocent Jewish worshippers. What an outrageous double standard!

Moshe Phillips is a commentator on Jewish affairs whose writings appear regularly in the American and Israeli press.

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Five Israelis extracted from Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem after being assaulted by mob of stone-throwing Palestinians.

By JNS

Palestinian stone-throwers on Monday lightly injured an Israeli among a group of five Jews who came under attack while visiting Joseph’s Tomb on the outskirts of Shechem (Nablus).

Palestinian Authority security forces rescued the Israelis and transferred them to the IDF.

The Israelis had not received permission for or coordinated the pilgrimage in advance.

According to the 1995 Oslo II Agreement, the tomb complex is an enclave under Israeli security control within Area A under full Palestinian control.

Visits to the place were initially made under the protection of civilian security personnel, but subsequently, the need for military security was recognized.

In late August, four Israeli soldiers were wounded during an operation to secure entry for civilians to the Joseph’s Tomb compound.

An improvised explosive device was set off as the soldiers passed by, and dozens of people were injured in related clashes.

A month earlier, one Palestinian was reported dead and several wounded in clashes that erupted when Islamic Jihad terrorists attacked worshippers and their military escort at the Jewish shrine.

Palestinians have regularly attacked Jews visiting the site, and Arab vandals last year set fire to the structure, smashing parts of the tomb itself and causing other damage.

The worst damage took place during the Second Intifada in 2000, after Israel pulled out of the area following a deadly terrorist attack there in October of that year. Rioting Palestinians looted and razed the structure.

Israelis started visiting again in 2004 following the IDF’s “Operation Defensive Shield” offensive in 2002, albeit on a limited basis. The structure was refurbished between 2009 and 2010.

Visits, typically on or near the beginning of the new Hebrew month or during Jewish holidays, take place in the middle of the night, with visitors arriving in bulletproof buses escorted by IDF troops.

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Terminal 3 passengers were instructed to lie on the floor during the incident.

By JNS

A state of emergency was declared at Ben-Gurion Airport early Thursday after a Palestinian car thief attempted to break through a security checkpoint, according to Israeli media reports.

Security forces instructed passengers in the main Terminal 3 to lay down on the floor, and all entrances and exits to the airport were closed.

The thief, a resident of Shechem (Nablus) in northern Samaria, reportedly drove to the airport gates in a manner that endangered security guards, who responded by shooting at the tires and deploying roadblocks until the stolen vehicle was stopped.

The car thief received medical treatment and was transferred to the police for investigation. The airport returned to normal routine.

“We didn’t know exactly what was going on. Everyone was running in panic and shouting. There was a moment of hysteria and stress and everyone lay down. I arrived with a group of American tourists who didn’t understand what was happening, I had to explain to them that it is a security incident that is happening and they are supposed to lie on the floor,” passenger Ziv Hait told Channel 12.

“We took shelter. The crews sat under the tables at the check-in stations. The event ended after 20 minutes, we received instructions to get up and go back to normal,” Hait added. “In my estimation, the incident did not cause drastic delays in takeoffs and landings.”

Passenger Avi Ifergan told Ynet that he had returned from the United States and was waiting for his luggage while his wife and three children were in the arrivals hall when “suddenly security guards rushed in and said there was an emergency.

“My wife called and said they heard gunfire outside. Everyone was in a panic. We lay on the floor for about 15 minutes—it was very tense and uncomfortable. I understood that the airport’s checkpoint had been breached and that the shots were likely aimed at the vehicle’s tires. Now it’s over, I’ve managed to calm down,” he said.

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“Terror will not win, in the merit of Joseph the righteous,” wrote Knesset member Zvi Sukkot of the attack.

By JNS

An Israeli officer and three soldiers were wounded on Wednesday night during an operation to secure entry for civilians to the Joseph’s Tomb compound in Shechem.

An improvised explosive device was set off as the soldiers passed by.

The wounded soldiers were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. The officer and two of the soldiers were “lightly” wounded, and another soldier was in moderate condition, the IDF said.

The explosive detonation took place at the point where the security forces were operating to secure the route to the tomb and not on the route civilians take to enter into the compound.

The IDF said the entrance of worshipers to Joseph’s tomb continues as planned, in spite of the attack.

Nablus Battalion, part of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, reportedly claimed responsibility, saying that its members detonated a roadside bomb close to Israeli forces as they entered the city. Thirty-nine people were injured in related clashes, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

“We are praying from the depths of our hearts for the safety of the soldiers who secured this entrance,” said Knesset member Zvi Sukkot, in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“Terror will not win, in the merit of Joseph the righteous,” he added.

Images shared on social media appeared to show a large explosion from the bomb.

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In a separate incident, a Palestinian gunman was critically wounded in clashes with Israeli troops near Joseph’s Tomb.

By JNS

Israeli forces have arrested one member of the terror cell responsible for a drive-by shooting at a military post near Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria on Wednesday night.

The vehicle used in the attack was also seized, along with the M-16 rifle used in the attack, improvised explosives, a grenade, military equipment and over 10 shell casings, the military said. A search was launched for additional suspects, who fled the scene.

The IDF statement said that soldiers had opened fire on the cell, but provided no information on their condition. No Israeli casualties were reported.

In a separate incident on Wednesday night, Palestinian sources reported that eight people were wounded, one seriously, by IDF fire during clashes that erupted when Israeli forces protecting a group of Jewish worshippers visiting Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem were attacked by local Palestinians with live fire and explosives.

The IDF confirmed that the seriously wounded person was shot during an exchange of fire with Israeli forces..

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, more than 85 people suffered from exposure to tear gas.

Hours later, IDF and Border Police forces led by the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit destroyed an explosives laboratory and warehouse in Shechem’s Balata camp.

The lab and warehouse contained 15 “ready-to-use explosive devices,” the IDF said in a statement.

במהלך הפעילות ניטרלו הכוחות מטען שהונח בציר הכניסה למחנה הפליטים והיה מוכן להפעלה. בנוסף, חשודים יידו אבנים, השליכו מטענים ובוצע ירי לעבר הכוח, שהגיב בירי לעבר חמושים במרחב. אין נפגעים לכוחותינו pic.twitter.com/PiShFdV4TS

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 16, 2023

On the way into the camp, Israeli forces detonated an explosive device placed on the access road, and during the operation Palestinian gunmen fired on the troops and hurled explosive devices and rocks at the soldiers, who returned fire.

No Israeli casualties were reported.

In overnight counterterror operations across Judea and Samaria, Israeli forces arrested a total of 10 wanted suspects and confiscated ammunition, weapon parts and two airsoft pistols.

A shot was fired at IDF soldiers in the village of Jabariat and stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown in Qalqilya at the forces who responded with crowd dispersal measures. Minor damage was caused to military vehicles.

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A Jericho man was arrested last week on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack.

By JNS

Israeli forces shot and killed a commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades who fired on them during operational activities overnight near Shechem (Nablus), Israeli media reported last Thursday.

The reports said that the terrorist was Amir Khalifa, 27, from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a generic term for armed terror squads active in Judea and Samaria.

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said that Khalifa was killed in the village of Zawata northwest of Nablus while Channel 12 said that he was killed in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp north of the city.

Palestinian sources cited Khalifa’s brother as saying he had been wanted for the past two years.

The IDF said in a statement only that Israeli forces had returned fire after being shot at during an operation in Shechem, and that “hits were identified.”

Israeli forces arrested three terror suspects during overnight operations throughout Judea and Samaria, according to the military.

Terrorists stoned soldiers in Beit Rima, Dura al-Qar’ and Beit Awa.

The IDF also reported that in the early hours of Thursday, shots were fired from Palestinian territory towards the Jewish village of Bat Hefer. No damage or casualties were reported.

Also on Thursday, police revealed that special forces arrested a 21-year-old Jericho resident last week who was suspected of planning a terrorist attack.

The Israel Police’s Unit 33, an elite intelligence-oriented undercover unit, detained the suspect with the cooperation of the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). He was arrested at his home along with other suspects, according to police.

The post IDF kills Al-Aqsa Brigades commander who shot at them near Nablus appeared first on World Israel News.

One Palestinian was reported dead in clashes that erupted in nearby Nablus with IDF.

By JNS

One person was reported dead and several wounded in clashes that erupted in Shechem (Nablus) on Wednesday night after Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists attacked Jewish worshippers and their military escort at Joseph’s Tomb.

In addition to being fired upon, Israeli forces were attacked with explosives and stones, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The soldiers responded with live fire and riot dispersal measures, and several hits were identified.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that one person was killed and at least four wounded in the exchange, two seriously. The Palestinian Red Crescent identified the casualty as Egyptian citizen Bader Sami Rabhi, 19.

The Nablus battalion of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, said its members were “fighting the occupation forces and groups of settlers who had stormed the area of Joseph’s Tomb,” the Reuters news agency reported.

Among the visitors to the tomb on Wednesday night was Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, the first serving police chief to visit the site since the establishment of the state, according to Israeli media reports.

צילום: חדשות הבזק

— וואלה! (@WallaNews) July 19, 2023

Police said that Shabtai had met earlier with the family of Moshe Klinerman, a teenager who went missing in March 2022, and accompanied them to the tomb.

Four terror suspects were arrested overnight in separate operations in Judea and Samaria, and weapons and ammunition were confiscated, according to the military.

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Troops returned fire at the vehicle, and a search was launched for the assailants. No injuries were were reported.

By JNS

Terrorists fired from a passing vehicle at Israeli soldiers near Nablus (Shechem) on Sunday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The Israeli forces, who were stationed at a military post, returned fire, and a search was launched for the shooters, according to the military.

The military post suffered damage, but no Israeli injuries were reported.

The shooting comes amid heightened tensions in Samaria following a series of deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks, including last week’s shooting at a restaurant near the town of Eli that killed four people and wounded four others.

On June 20, in response to the wave of attacks, dozens of Jews rioted in several Palestinian towns and villages, damaging several homes and businesses and injuring 36 people according to Palestinian Red Crescent.

The violence was condemned as terrorism by Israel’s security establishment.

The IDF Chief of Staff, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel’s national police commissioner said in a statement, “These attacks are against every moral and Jewish value and are also nationalistic terrorism in every way, and we are committed to fighting them.”

“The IDF, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police are committed to continuing to act with determination and with all the means at our disposal to maintain security and the law in Judea and Samaria,” they added. “The IDF will divert and increase forces to prevent incidents of this type, and the Shin Bet will also expand arrests, including administrative arrests against rioters who act in a violent and extremist manner in the Palestinian villages.”

The statement also called on the leaders and educators in the various communities to publicly denounce these acts of violence and to join the effort to fight against them.

Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor and Yesha Council Chairman Shlomo Ne’eman issued a statement in response, condemning vigilantism but expressing frustration at the increase in Palestinian terrorism and calling for the government to take action against Palestinian violence.

“After an unbearably difficult week, we see what is happening in Judea and Samaria and we don’t have a positive feeling about it. For more than a year, terrorism has been rampant in our streets and most recently has been increasing, and has reached a peak,” said Ne’eman.

“We demand that the IDF and the political echelon act with all of the tools at their disposal in order to strike at the terrorist infrastructure, including those who support, instigate and finance terrorism, and defeat them.

“Unfortunately, until now, it seems that these demands have not been met. The heroism of our fighters in order to neutralize the threats is extremely important, but it has not changed the de-facto security reality. Terrorism continues and is harming the state of Israel and her citizens.

“In this reality, a small handful of Jews, out of desperation and frustration, have taken the law into their own hands. We should not mimic our barbarous enemy, go wild and do harm indiscriminately. We have what the terrorists and their supporters do not have—a sense of humanity,” the statement continued.

Ne’eman concluded: “The residents of Judea and Samaria are not violent and don’t take the law into their own hands. And those who are criminals, should be dealt with to the full extent of the law.”

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The IDF also mapped for destruction the homes of the terrorists who killed four Israeli civilians near Eli.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces demolished the home of Palestinian terrorist Kamel Jouri in Shechem (Nablus) on Thursday morning.

Jouri and another terrorist killed Staff-Sgt. Ido Baruch, 21, in a drive-by shooting near Shavei Shomron in northern Samaria in February.

During Thursday’s demolition operation in the city’s Mahfiya neighborhood, explosives were thrown and shots were fired at Israeli troops. Stones and burning tires were also thrown.

Israeli forces last week demolished the Nablus home of the second terrorist, Osama Tawil.

Last month, the IDF mapped for demolition the home, also in Nablus, of Hasam Bassam Bashir Aslim, who directed the attack.

Baruch was securing a civilian march near Shavei Shomron when he was shot from a moving vehicle. He was evacuated to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, where he died of his wounds.

Israeli forces arrested Tawil and Jouri in February.

Homes of Eli terrorists mapped for demolition

On Wednesday night, the IDF mapped for demolition the homes of the terrorists who killed four Israeli civilians and wounded four others near the town of Eli in the Binyamin region of Samaria.

Muhannad Faleh Shehadeh, 24, and Khaled Mustafa Sabah, 25, were members of Hamas. Both came from the village of Urif, near Nablus.

The attack took place at the entrance to a restaurant at a gas station on Route 60 located below Eli, which is north of Ramallah and south of Nablus (Shechem).

Shehadeh was shot dead by an Israeli civilian at the scene of the attack, while Sabrah fled the scene in a stolen vehicle which he abandoned for a taxi. He was killed by Israeli special forces some two hours after the attack.

Six terror suspects apprehended in Judea and Samaria

IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Border Police forces arrested six terror suspects throughout Judea and Samaria and in the Jordan Valley region overnight Wednesday.

Four of the suspects were captured during operations in the villages of Doha, Ubeidiya, Silwad and the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem.

Violent clashes erupted in Doha, and the fighters responded with non-lethal measures to disperse rioters, according to the IDF. During the operation in the Dheisheh refugee camp, suspects threw stones and launched fireworks at the forces.

The fifth suspect, a resident of the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho, was involved in shooting attacks against IDF forces, according to the military.

The final suspect was arrested in Hebron. Three guns, ammunition and radios were found during the operation, according to the IDF.

No Israeli casualties were reported.

The post Israel demolishes home of IDF soldier’s killer appeared first on World Israel News.

IDF forces carried out a house demolition in the city of Shechem (Nablus) overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, destroying the home of Osama Tawil, one of the terrorists who killed IDF soldier Ido Baruch in a shooting attack last October.

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at IDF forces while other locals hurled explosives and Molotov cocktails. One terrorist was killed in the exchange.

The post WATCH: Palestinians open fire as IDF razes home of terrorist who murdered soldier appeared first on World Israel News.

Israeli forces operate in Shechem (Nablus), demolishing home of the terrorist who shot and killed St. Sgt. Ido Baruch last year.

By TPS and World Israel News Staff

Forces from the IDF and the Border Police destroyed the home of Osama Tawil, the terrorist who murdered an Israeli soldier last October, overnight in the Rafidia neighborhood of Shechem (Nablus).

The terrorist carried out a shooting attack together with another terrorist on October 11, 2022, during which a Givati infantry patrol soldier, First Sergeant Ido Baruch, was killed.

During the operation, terrorists opened fire on the Israeli forces, prompting soldiers and Border Police officers to return fire.

At three terrorists were shot during the resulting gun battle.

According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, one wounded terrorist, identified as 20-year-old Khalil Anis, later succumbed to his injuries.

The PA’s WAFA outlet reported that one of the other wounded terrorists is listed in critical condition.

In addition, suspects threw explosives, shot fireworks and threw Molotov cocktails at the Israeli security personnel. IDF and Border Police forces responded with tear gas and stun grenades, WAFA said.

There were no casualties reported among the Israeli forces.

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“Joseph chose unity with his brothers in spite of everything, and we should learn from the righteous Joseph,” said Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Thousands of Jews, including two government ministers, visited Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus (Shechem) Tuesday night while the IDF protected them from a Palestinian riot.

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar of the Likud, who does not regularly sport a kippah, said he came to the holy site because Joseph was a unifier.

There is a “great rift” in the nation, he said, referring to the highly divisive controversy over the government’s plans for judicial reform. “The righteous Joseph was the one who healed the rift between all the tribes…. He saw peace in the nation as the most important thing.”

According to the bible, when Joseph was viceroy of Egypt, he forgave his brothers instead of punishing them for having sold him as a slave years earlier.

“The unity of the people,” Zohar continued, “is our strength as a nation, to be strong and to defeat the many enemies that the people of Israel unfortunately have.” It is incumbent on the nation to come together, he said, “because we don’t have another country, we have no substitute.”

The proof of Israel having enemies was right outside the doors to the complex, as it is located in an all-Arab city in Samaria that is currently a hotbed of Palestinian terrorism. Residents first burned tires and tried blocking the roads leading to the Tomb to prevent the worshipers from arriving.

After the buses rolled in, terrorists also shot live fire and threw explosives, Molotov cocktails and rocks at the army units who were guarding the visitors. The IDF forces used riot-dispersal means and fired back, reporting that several of the anarchists were hit, either with live rounds or rubber bullets. Arab media reported that a number of Palestinians were taken to local hospitals after the clash.

Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, several MKs and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan also attended the evening of prayers and called for national harmony.

“Joseph chose unity with his brothers in spite of everything, and we should learn from the righteous Joseph,” said Dagan. “There are ideological differences, but let no person raise a hand against his brother.”

Both he and Zohar noted how “sad” it was that the pilgrimage had to take place in the way it did, with Dagan describing it as coming “like thieves in the night” to what is “one of the holiest places for the Jewish people.”

He reminded the participants that under the Oslo Accords, the tomb and the road leading to it were supposed to be under Israel’s complete control, but that this clause in the Israeli-Palestinian agreement has been ignored.

Palestinians have injured and even killed Jewish visitors to the site over the years, as well as  vandalizing it repeatedly. They have set it on fire more than once, including last April, when the tomb itself was partially broken. It has been repaired each time out of the Israeli government’s coffers.

All civilian pilgrimages to the site must be authorized by the IDF, which accompanies the groups in large numbers to ensure their safety. Tuesday night’s trip was an annual occasion – unless security requirements dictate otherwise–  as it is the date dedicated to the biblical Joseph during what is known as the Counting of the Omer, the seven-week period between the Jewish holidays of Passover and Shavuot.

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