The Israel Defense Forces shot and killed two Palestinians in the predawn hours of Monday after the pair attempted to run over troops with their car.
According to the IDF, troops were deployed in Jalazone refugee camp outside of Ramallah to arrest a terror suspect when a vehicle began accelerating at high speed towards them at approximately 4 am.
“IDF soldiers operated in the Jalazone Camp and apprehended an individual suspected of terror activity. During the activity, two suspects attempted to carry out a ramming attack against IDF soldiers. The soldiers responded with fire and neutralized the two suspects,” the IDF said in a statement.
No IDF soldiers were hurt in the incident.
The two men killed have been identified as 18-year-old Bassel Qassem Basbous and 21-year-old Khaled Fadi Anbar, while a third, 19-year-old Raafat Habash, also in the car and wounded, has been arrested.
The IDF has said that the men involved in the attempted car-ramming were not connected to the suspect arrested during the raid.
Footage published by Palestinian media outlets on Twitter shows traces of blood on the road where the incident is said to have taken place.
⭕ آثار دماء الشبان الثلاثة الذين أطلق الاحتلال النار عليهم داخل مركبتهم واعتقلهم قرب مخيم الجلزون شمال رام الله pic.twitter.com/X1BTtPSqzE
— إذاعة الأقصى - عاجل (@Alaqsavoice_Brk) October 3, 2022
This morning’s raid comes as part of the IDF’s Operation “Break the Wave” aimed at curbing Palestinian terrorist activity in the West Bank. The Israeli military arrested 16 people during overnight raids across the West Bank on Sunday alone.
Amid rising tensions around the Jewish High Holidays, Israel has led an anti-terror offensive that has seen over 100 Palestinians killed and more than 2000 arrested during night raids on the West Bank.
Israeli troops have recently come under frequent gunfire during night raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank. In May, a police commando was killed as troops were conducting an arrest operation in the Jenin area. Last month, a senior IDF officer was killed in a shootout with Palestinians on the northern West Bank security barrier.
