Sami Samoudi, 23, yelled "Allahu Akbar" before opening fire at four soldiers near Mevo Dotan, reportedly to avenge a relative's death.
By YAAKOV KATZIDF checkpoint 311(photo credit: Courtesy)
A terrorist was shot and killed on Thursday morning after he opened fire at an IDF post near the Mevo Dotan settlement in the northern West Bank.IDF sources said a Palestinian armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle shot at the military watchtower just before 11 a.m. He stood about 50 meters from the soldiers and yelled “Allahu Akbar” before he opened fire.RELATED:Soldier involved in shooting of Palestinian dischargedTwo Palestinians killed in West BankTroops from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, known for its integration of haredi youth into the army, responded with a warning shot in the air, and when the gunman continued shooting, the soldiers returned fire, killing him.Palestinian Authority security officials identified the man as Sami Samoudi, 23. It was unclear whether he had links to a specific terrorist organization.Samoudi was arrested twice previously by Israel for suspected involvment in terrorist activity and was a known Islamic Jihad operative.The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) opened an investigation.Relatives said Samoudi had likely sought to avenge the death of a relative who was killed at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley two weeks ago while trying to attack soldiers with a pipe bomb.Terrorism in the West Bank has seen a sharp decline in 2010, with the lowest number of attacks in the past decade.AP contributed to this report.
