Terrorists open fire on Israeli town in Samaria

Shooting in Avnei Hefetz is the fourth terrorist attack in the region in the last three days.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The village of Avnei Hefetz in Samaria came under brief attack Sunday morning as shots were fired into the community, hitting one house.

While no one was physically injured, one woman had to be treated on site for a panic attack. All the residents were ordered to stay in their homes while soldiers spread out through the area to search for the assailants.

Four Palestinians were subsequently arrested in a raid in the nearby Nur Shams refugee camp outside Tulkarem, although it is unknown as yet if those detained were responsible for this specific attack. The IDF forces were met with resistance, as announced by the Tul Karem Brigade-Rapid Response group , who said in real time that they were battling with the troops. No injuries were reported on the Israeli side.

The terrorist group suffered the loss of its founder and leader, Amir Abu Khadija, on Thursday, when he tried attacking the Israeli security forces who had come to arrest him in the village of Izbat Shufa, also near Tulkarem. The Shabak had received intelligence information that Khadija was behind numerous shooting attacks on Jewish settlements and army positions at the Teenim crossing point.

This is the second time in a week that an attack occurred in Avnei Hefetz. On Thursday, terrorists fired at a vehicle with an Israeli license plate at the entrance to the village. The vehicle was owned by an Arab-Israeli, who was not hurt in the incident.

The IDF said in response that bullet casings were recovered from the site and that they were searching for the suspects.

It is also the fourth terrorist attack in the region in the last three days, with the most serious one being on the Sabbath. Two IDF soldiers were injured in a drive-by shooting at their military position in the Palestinian Arab village of Huwara.

According to a military source, the attacker knew the area well and disappeared quickly following the attack. He had fired at the men “on full automatic,” said the source, and the soldiers didn’t have a chance to return fire. One of the soldiers told Walla News separately that they took cover but didn’t even know where the fire was coming from before realizing that they had been hit. Their condition is currently listed as moderate but stable.

The Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Thursday marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection and community as it commemorates the first revelation of the Koran to Muhammad. In Israel, it has been in recent years a period of extensive Palestinian violence against Jews, both in major cities such as Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria.