IDF kills Ofra terrorist suspect, son of West Bank Hamas leader

The shootout took place just hours after the four-day-old baby of Shira Ish-ran was pronounced dead Wednesday.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, ANNA AHRONHEIM, TOVAH LAZAROFF
Updated: DECEMBER 13, 2018 10:06
Israeli security forces and emergency personnel work at the scene of shooting attack, near the Israeli settlement of Ofra, December 9, 2018 (photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)
Israeli security forces and emergency personnel work at the scene of shooting attack, near the Israeli settlement of Ofra, December 9, 2018
(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)
The IDF killed the son of a West Bank Hamas leader and arrested suspected of links to the terrorist cell that wounded seven Israeli civilians at a bus stop outside of the Ofra settlement earlier this week.
The Shin Bet late Wednesday night confirmed it had shot Barghouti, 29, a resident of Kobar, located near Ramallah.
Saleh Omar Barghouti is the son of a West Bank Hamas leader, Omar Barghouti. He is not the same Omar Barghouti who leads the Palestinian BDS movement.
“The suspect tried to harm our forces as he attempted to flee,” the Shin Bet said in a statement, adding that security forces “shot and killed” him.

Palestinian sources said that Saleh was arrested when IDF soldiers intercepted a cab he was riding in, while a second Palestinian suspect also from Kobar, Wa’ed Barghouti, was arrested separately shortly afterward.
The IDF reportedly raided the home of Omar Barghouti after the shooting.
Additional suspects were also arrested and will be interrogated, the Shin Bet said.
Palestinian eyewitnesses also reported that an elite Israeli military unit surrounded a building located a few hundred meters away from the Mukata presidential compound in Ramallah.
“The murderers are abhorrent, the most deviant criminals on earth,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The security forces are pursuing them, and I hope that there will be news soon on this matter. We will not slacken until we find them and deal with them to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Earlier in the evening, the four-day-old baby boy born prematurely after his mother Shira Ish-ran was wounded in the Ofra attack, died.
Binyamin Council head Israel Ganz called on Netanyahu to act against terror infrastructure in the West Bank so as to deter future attacks.
“Nothing will bring the dead baby back to his mother and his people, but we ask you to restore our national honor, to restore our personal security,” Ganz said.
He also called on the prime minister to double the size of the Ofra settlement, and to increase building in general in the communities in Judea and Samaria.