Israeli forces kill Palestinian suspected of murdering settler
Ahmad Jarrar, who is suspected of killing a settler on 9 January, was shot dead in a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank
Palestinian protesters near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah (AFP)
Tuesday 6 February 2018
The Palestinian suspect in the murder of a rabbi on 9 January was shot dead on Tuesday in a pre-dawn raid hours after another Israeli was killed in a stabbing in the West Bank.
Israeli forces killed Palestinian Ahmad Jarrar during a wide-scale military operation in the town of al-Yamoun in the northern occupied West Bank district of Jenin as hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets to mourn his death.
Since rabbi Raziel Shevach, who lived on an illegal outpost, was shot and killed last month while driving near Nablus, Israeli forces have embarked on a manhunt for Jarrar, who had managed to evade capture for weeks.
In January, during a raid while searching for Jarrar, Israeli forces shot and killed his cousin Ahmad Ismail Jarrar near the Jarrar family home in the Wadi Burqin neighbourhood of Jenin city, reported Palestinian media.
The incident comes after Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian teenager during an arrest raid in the village of Burqin in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said on Saturday.
The governor of the Jenin district, Ibrahim Ramadan, said in a statement on Tuesday that he was informed of the killing of Ahmad Jarrar, adding that his body was being held by Israel.
During the raid, Israeli forces reportedly called on Jarrar to exit the building in which he was hiding, and when he did not, forces launched at least one missile at the building.
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Shortly after the missile was fired, forces then began demolishing the building with a bulldozer, reported Palestinian media.
“When Jarrar finally came out of one building, he was armed with an M-16 assault rifle and a bag full of explosives, prompting the Israeli forces to open fire and kill him,” Ynet said.
Ynet added that Israeli forces also arrested several Palestinians who have been accused of helping Jarrar hide.
Clashes between young Palestinian men and armed Israeli forces erupted in al-Yamoun following the operation.
A Red Crescent official, Mahmoud al-Saadi, told Ma’an news agency that seven Palestinians suffered from severe tear-gas inhalation during clashes.
Condolences for Jarrar and his family were announced via the loudspeakers of the mosques of Jenin city, while schools and stores closed in mourning as a general strike was called.
Israelis mourn
Meanwhile, several hundred mourners attended the funeral on Tuesday for rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, the 29-year-old settler killed a day earlier.
There was no indication of a direct link between the two attacks, with violence common in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli settlers or security forces.
"The security forces will catch whoever tries to attack Israeli citizens and we will deal with them to the fullest extent of the law," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
Both attacks have led to Israeli calls for more settlement building in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation for more than 50 years.
Earlier this week in response to Shevach's murder, Israel's government in a rare move decided to "legalise" the rogue West Bank outpost where he lived, Havat Gilad, essentially creating a new settlement.
There were further calls for more settlement construction at Tuesday's funeral for Ben Gal, held at the Har Bracha settlement where he lived, Israeli media reported.
