Palestinian gunmen in a passing car opened fire on Israeli troops near Nablus early Friday morning, Israel’s army said, moments after the military announced it was easing a blockade on the Palestinian city following gains against a local terror group.
A Palestinian man was killed and two others were injured by Israeli fire, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that soldiers in the town of Huwara, just south of Nablus, opened fire on two “suspect” vehicles after a passing car opened fire on troops at an IDF post in the town.
No soldiers were injured and hits were identified, the army said.
Palestinian health authorities said Imad Abu Rashid, 47, was killed after being shot by Israeli forces in the head, chest and stomach. Two other wounded Palestinians were brought to Nablus’s Rafidia Hospital.
The military said soldiers who shot at the cars had been in the area as part of an offensive operation.
Troops were searching the area for additional suspects, and a number of backpacks were found at the scene of the incident, according to the IDF.
01:00 ISF shot at the vehicle https://t.co/aTM3PbguZR pic.twitter.com/7jmSIFb4y5
— Younis Tirawi (@ytirawi) October 27, 2022
Video published on social media appeared to show one of the cars that had taken Israeli fire, with several broken windows and what appeared to be bullet holes.
A balaclava is also seen on a seat, alongside pomegranates.
# witness One of the vehicles targeted by the occupying army on the Hawarah fences south #Nabelswhich a young man witnessed and two others were seriously injured. pic.twitter.com/K7qLrDDfXd
— Newpress | New Press (@NewpressPs) October 27, 2022
The attack occurred about an hour after the Israeli military announced it was opening a number of entrances into Nablus, which has been under a tight military cordon since October 12.
“Following a situational assessment … it was decided to change the method of restricting movement in the Nablus area and some entrances into the city will be opened tonight,” an IDF spokesperson said in a statement sent shortly after midnight.
It was not immediately clear if the Huwara checkpoint was among those that were reopened.
The decision to ease the blockade on the city came after Israel appeared to make major gains against the Lions Den terror group in recent days. The ad hoc group, which had formed less than two months earlier, had claimed responsibility for near-nightly attacks on soldiers and settlements, including a shooting on October 11 that left one soldier dead.
Gunmen at the funeral of those killed in clashes sparked by an overnight Israeli raid against the Lion’s Den terror group, in the West Bank city of Nablus on October 25, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)
On Tuesday, Israeli troops raided a house used by Lion’s Den in Nablus’s old city, killing the apparent leader of the group and four other gunmen, and destroyed a bomb factory. That came a day after another senior member was killed in a strike attributed to Israel.
Four members of Lion’s Den turned themselves in to the Palestinian Authority security services late Wednesday, reportedly as part of a deal granting them protection from the Israeli crackdown, which has also netted a number of arrests in recent days.
Lion’s Den members have vowed to continue carrying out attacks.
