JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops on Saturday raided the West Bank hometown of a Palestinian who carried out a deadly shooting in Tel Aviv, sparking a gunbattle that left at least one Palestinian militant dead, according to Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military said its troops were carrying out what it said was a counterterrorism operation in the city of Jenin and the adjacent Jenin refugee camp. That’s the area in the northern West Bank where the gunman in Thursday’s attack had lived. It said the troops came under fire and returned fire at the assailants. There were no Israeli casualties and the forces seized an automatic rifle used by one of the militants, the military said.
It gave no further details, but the Israeli news site Ynet said troops had surrounded the attacker’s home to arrest some of his relatives.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa shared a video on Twitter in which gunshots could be heard. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least one Palestinian was killed and 10 wounded. The Islamic Jihad militant group identified the dead man as one of its fighters.
Jenin is considered a stronghold of Palestinian militants. Israeli forces often come under fire when operating in the area. Even the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and coordinates with Israel on security matters, appears to have little control.
In Thursday’s shooting, a Palestinian gunman opened fire in central Tel Aviv, killing three people. The attacker, identified as Raad Hazem, 28, of Jenin, was later killed by Israeli forces.
It was the fourth deadly attack in Israel by Palestinians in three weeks and came at a time of heightened tensions around the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Two of those attacks were carried out by men from Jenin.
Protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan last year helped spark an 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
