Palestinian gunmen opened fire on IDF soldiers in the village of Qabatiya, near Jenin, after Israeli forces surrounded a house and called for a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader to surrender on Monday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson Unit.
Palestinian media later reported that the Israeli military had arrested al-Quds Brigades leader Alaa Zakarneh and that seven Palestinians had been injured in the gunfight.The al-Quds brigades is the military wing of Islamic Jihad. The recent arrest of PIJ leader Bassam al-Saadi in Jenin was one of the major factors leading to the three-day Operation Breaking Dawn.
On Sunday night, security forces arrested a total of nine Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.
Shooting attacks in Judea and Samaria
On the same night, terrorists fired at a military post north of the Israeli settlement Ofra in the northern part of the West Bank.
No casualties were reported.
Nearly an hour later, shots were fired at a military position near the Palestinian town of Silwad, located northeast of Ramallah.
The IDF also stated that a shooting was carried out at a military position near Nablus. IDF returned fire and began searching for the suspects in both areas. Like in Ofra, there were no casualties among Israeli forces.
Overnight arrests in the West Bank last week
Between last Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, 14 people were arrested in the West Bank, three of them for assaulting passers-by in the Old City of Jerusalem. One IDF soldier sustained a mild gunshot wound.
Between last Monday night and Tuesday morning, 18 people were arrested on suspicion of terrorist activity, as IDF troops, along with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Border Police forces conducted counterterrorism activities. There were no reported casualties.