The Palestinian fighter was killed after a confrontation with Israeli forces that lasted up to five hours involving a helicopter and drone, reports say.
Seven Israeli soldiers have been injured in clashes with a Palestinian fighter who opened fire on a bus carrying settlers in an area west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to reports.
The man, identified as Mujahid Barakat Mansour, 32, was killed following a manhunt and confrontation that reportedly lasted for up to five hours in a mountainous region between the villages of Deir Ibzi’a and Kafr Ni’ma in the early hours of Friday morning.
According to Arab48, Mansour was a former member of the Guard of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The manhunt involved a helicopter and a drone, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency.
In videos widely circulating online, an Israeli Apache helicopter is seen firing in the area.
🚨 Armed clashes are continuing between one or more resistance fighters and zionist forces following a shooting operation targeting a settler vehicle in "Dolev," west of #Ramallah.
The IOF has deployed a helicopter and drone to search for the fighters, and the zionist forces… pic.twitter.com/DlqyjlufSS
— Suppressed Voice. (@SuppressedNws) March 22, 2024
Israeli media confirmed two helicopters and a drone were used in the manhunt, adding that Israeli military reinforcements have been sent to the area.
Al-Jazeera cited Israeli Radio as reporting that the bus came under fire from one or more gunmen in a valley adjacent to the Dolev and Talmon illegal Jewish settlements.
According to Al-Jazeera, seven Israeli soldiers were injured, including two critically.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine praised the “heroic shooting operation” in a statement on Friday, affirming that “the enemy reaps the fruits of its criminality, arrogance, and erroneous calculations.”
🚨 An IOF Apache helicopter began firing at an open area near the site of the shooting operation west of #Ramallah. Armed clashes have renewed in the area. pic.twitter.com/5XJcqV2x8A
— Liberation🔻🇵🇸 (@resistancePS) March 22, 2024
Heightened Tensions
The Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel confirmed that “seven people were hurt in the incident, including one in critical condition and two in serious condition,” without referring to them as soldiers.
“Troops began a pursuit after the gunman, during which they came under fire several times throughout the morning,” the report added.
Friday’s incident comes as tensions have escalated across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its genocidal attack on the Gaza Strip, following the October 7 Resistance operation.
Israeli military raids into towns and villages have also increased.
🚨 The executor of the heroic shooting operation in “Dolev,” west of #Ramallah, is the martyr Mujahid Barakat Mansour (32 years old) from the village of Deir Ibzi', west of #Ramallah.
After targeting a settler vehicle, he clashed for nearly 5 hours with IOF soldiers who failed… pic.twitter.com/wtS4KgpI1d
— Dr. Zain Abbadi (@ZainAbbadi11) March 22, 2024
One Killed in Jenin
On Thursday evening, a Palestinian youth was killed and two others were injured, while two young men were arrested, during an Israeli military raid i into the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho.
Nasser Anani, director of Jericho Governmental Hospital, informed WAFA that one young man arrived at the hospital with critical head injuries. The young man, later identified as Ibrahim Abdel Rahim Qatash, was pronounced dead due to his injuries an hour later.
Another Palestinian youth was wounded by Israeli gunfire but is in stable condition, while a young girl sustained injuries from bullet shrapnel.
🚨 Zionist special forces invaded Aqabat Jaber camp in #Areeha. Two Palestinians are wounded by IOF bullets, including a serious head injury. pic.twitter.com/lR8zvfip55
— Scôtłäñdíŷå (@Jihane09876) March 21, 2024
WAFA reported that a special Israeli military unit infiltrated the camp during Iftar time and besieged a house belonging to the Al-Ayyouti family, where they arrested the two brothers, Amar and Hamdi Al-Ayyouti.
The raid sparked confrontations between residents and the Israeli forces who occupied the roof of the besieged house and opened fire at the residents, resulting in the injury of three individuals, including a young girl. Ambulances were prevented from reaching the scene, reported WAFA.
Hebron (Al Khalil)
Also on Thursday, armed settlers, accompanied by soldiers, attacked the vehicles of Palestinians in the Wadi al-Hasin area, located east of the city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) in the occupied West Bank, while Israeli forces prevented a large number of residents from reaching their homes, reported WAFA.
Israeli forces also closed the so-called military Checkpoint 160 in the city, detained and interrogated several civilians, and prevented hundreds of them from reaching their homes, witnesses told WAFA. The Israeli forces also further fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters towards residents.
An 'exceptional' resistance operation in the occupied West Bank this morning by Mujahid Barakat Mansour, a retired soldier in the Palestinian President's Guard.
One man, up against the Israeli army — who needed an Apache helicopter to stop him. pic.twitter.com/ylFMZ1aaXI
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 22, 2024
At least 7,725 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces during military raids across the West Bank since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, according to the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, and the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS).
(PC, WAFA)
Israel apparently enlisted settlers en masse into the IDF, after Oct7 2023. So Israel has stripped the relative “immunity” granted to civilians from settlers en masse. I expect the IDF don’t want to realize what they means. But it damns the IDF as a bunch of terrorists, since senior IDF officials admitted in 2023 that the torching of Huwara was an act of terrorism.