Palestinian gunman killed in clash with Israeli troops during arrest raid in Nablus
Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian gunman during an exchange of fire in the northern West Bank city of Nablus in the predawn hours of Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The soldiers were sent into the Balata refugee camp in the city to arrest a wanted man and came under fire, according to the military.
The troops returned fire, killing one of the gunmen, the IDF said.
The IDF said the troops completed the raid and arrested the suspect.
The gunman was identified by Palestinian security sources as 22-year-old Bakeer Hashash. Photographs of Hashash that were shared on Palestinian social media showed him holding an M-16 assault rifle.
He was not immediately claimed as a member by any Palestinian terror group, though Hamas issued a public condemnation of Israel for killing him, referring to Hashash as a “hero martyr.”
استشهاد الشاب باكير حشاش في مخيم بلاطه بعد اشتباك مع قوات الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/oZUvRrvbk4
— حركة فتح (@fatehorg) January 6, 2022
Recent months have seen a rise in violence by Palestinians against Israeli civilians and soldiers in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including a deadly shooting attack last month outside the illegal Homesh outpost, as well as an increase in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
The IDF has deployed additional soldiers to the area in an effort to prevent further violence.