World News

At scene of attack, Netanyahu and Gallant blame Iran for recent West Bank terror spike

August 21, 2023
Bharat Times

HEBRON, West Bank — Speaking from the scene of a deadly shooting attack near the southern West Bank city of Hebron Monday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the ongoing terror wave was being directed by Iran.

“We are in the midst of a terrorist onslaught that is being encouraged, directed, and financed by Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu said.

“The most significant change on the ground is related to Iranian financing and intent,” Gallant added.

“Iran is looking for any way to harm the citizens of Israel. We will take various actions that will restore security to the citizens of Israel,” Gallant said, adding that “all options are on the table.”

Netanyahu stated that he gives his “full support to the commanders and soldiers who work day and night to protect us all. We all must support them.”

Speaking earlier, the head of the military’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, said that Israel was in the middle of a major terror wave, following the day’s deadly shooting and in the wake of another deadly attack over the weekend.

Head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox speaks to reporters from the Judea Regional Brigade base near the West Bank city of Hebron, August 21, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

“We are in the midst of an escalation, a terror wave, the likes of which we have not seen in a long time,” Fox told reporters at the military’s Judea Regional Brigade headquarters near Hebron. “The IDF and security forces are operating daily in every region to foil terror.”

Palestinian shooting, stabbing, and car-ramming attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 29 people dead and several others seriously wounded since the beginning of the year. Also this year, rocket fire from the Gaza Strip killed two people during a round of hostilities in May, and an attack by an Egyptian policeman on the border in June left three soldiers dead.

Last year, 27 Israeli civilians and foreigners were killed in terror attacks committed by Palestinian or Arab Israeli terrorists in Israel or the West Bank. Another three soldiers were killed in attacks directed against troops, and one police commando was killed during clashes with Palestinian gunmen in a West Bank operation.

“We are trying to get ahead of the enemy and thwart [their plans]. Most of the time we succeed. Today, and this week, we didn’t,” Fox said, referring to Monday’s deadly attack near Hebron and the killing of an Israeli father and son in Huwara on Saturday.

“We will chase down our enemies in Huwara and Hebron and in any other place,” he said. “We will learn from the incidents, investigate, and draw lessons,” he added.

Israeli security forces secure the scene of a shooting attack on Route 60, near Hebron, in the West Bank, August 21, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Responding to a question by The Times of Israel regarding fears that the ongoing terror wave, which has mostly centered on the northern West Bank, is spreading to its south, Fox said that the military had foiled numerous attacks in the Hebron area already.

“It is true that most of the overt terror in the recent period has been in the Samaria area,” Fox said, referring to the northern West Bank by its biblical name. “But here too, we have foiled dozens of attacks, if not more, including terror cells in the Judea region [in the southern West Bank].”

“I very much hope we can improve the situation in northern Samaria too, and in Judea, and foil terror before it is carried out,” he added.

Meanwhile, in response to the two recent deadly terror attacks, right-wing settler activists launched a new social media campaign calling on the government to fire Fox.

A poster circulating online called to “fire Fox immediately,” with a picture of the general surrounded by 24 recent terror victims.

Activists hold Fox responsible for the recent wave of terror attacks, accusing him of not cracking down on Palestinians. The criticism has also been echoed in recent days by several right-wing politicians in the coalition.

Responding to the campaign and criticism by lawmakers, Fox told reporters that he was not taking it personally. “Nothing is personal. I’ve been wearing a uniform for the last 35 years, and with me are tens of thousands of others in the IDF and security forces, working to defend the citizens of Israel,” he said.

“I’ve been a public servant for 35 years, and I will continue to be as long as I believe I can handle the challenges and provide security for the citizens of Israel, for everyone — even for those who do not like [me],” Fox added.

Heads of the IDF’s Central Command have repeatedly come under fire by some settler groups over the years for what they felt was insufficient action against security threats or egregious action against illegal Jewish settlements.

Israeli forces at the scene of a deadly shooting attack near the West Bank city of Hebron, August 21, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Earlier Monday, 42-year-old Batsheva Nigri was shot dead, and 40-year-old Aryeh Leib was seriously hurt after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at their vehicle near Hebron. Nigri’s 12-year-old daughter was in the car during the attack, but was unharmed, MDA said.

The Nigris had been hitching a ride with Leib, who had also been heading to the Jerusalem area from the southern West Bank.

The vehicle was hit by at least 22 rounds, with another three bullet impacts found nearby, according to the military’s initial investigation.

IDF soldiers at a nearby post heard gunfire, but did not immediately identify that an attack had occurred. By the time troops reached the scene, the terrorists had fled, according to the preliminary probe.

The IDF said it had launched a manhunt for the terrorists and closed off a number of roads in the area. The military encircled Hebron and was questioning Palestinians entering and leaving the city.

Batsheva Nigri, who was killed in a terrorist attack on August 21, 2023. (Courtesy)

The IDF was given a description of the suspected vehicle used by the gunmen to carry out the terror attack. The vehicle had no license plates and was believed to have fled toward the Hebron area. Security forces later found a burnt-out vehicle near the Palestinian town of Halhul that apparently matched the description of the terrorists’ car.

The attack near Hebron came two days after a Palestinian terrorist killed two Israeli men, a father and son, while they were doing errands in the northern West Bank town of Huwara. Shay Silas Nigreker, 60, and his 28-year-old son Aviad Nir were shot to death at a carwash on Saturday afternoon.

The IDF said Monday it was bolstering the West Bank with an additional infantry battalion and two companies, following the two recent deadly terror attacks.

The military said the additional forces would assist in the manhunts for the terrorists who carried out the attack near Hebron on Monday and the shooting in Huwara on Saturday.

Typically, the IDF’s West Bank division has 13 battalions. Over the past 18 months, that number has fluctuated, given the increase in Palestinian terror attacks, reaching a high of 26 battalions in October 2022. Following Monday’s deployment, there will be 23 battalions in the West Bank.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi tours the scene of the deadly shooting attack near the West Bank city of Hebron on August 21, 2023 (Israel Defense Force)

Meanwhile, on Monday, a Palestinian man was critically wounded after being shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Beita, close to Huwara.

In a graphic video circulated by Palestinian media outlets, a seemingly unarmed man was seen being shot while walking away from the Israeli forces.

Palestinian media reports claimed that the man, named as Ameed al-Jaghoub, had died of his wounds, but the Palestinian Authority health ministry said his condition was critical.

There was no immediate comment from security forces on the incident.

Violence has surged across the West Bank over the past year and a half, with a rise in Palestinian shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, near-nightly arrest raids by the military, and an uptick in revenge attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians.

According to a tally by The Times of Israel, 173 West Bank Palestinians have also been killed since the beginning of the year — most of them during clashes with security forces or while carrying out attacks, but some were uninvolved civilians and others were killed under unclear circumstances, including by armed Israeli settlers.

Also Monday, hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rioted along the Israeli border.

A spokesperson for the IDF told The Times of Israel that the rioters hurled a number of explosive devices, and several attempted to break through the security barrier.

IDF forces detained a number of Palestinians in the area and handed them over to the Shin Bet security agency for questioning, the spokesperson added.

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said 18 people were wounded by Israeli fire during the rioting.