Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and injured two others who had hurled explosives at Israeli soldiers during an overnight raid in the northern West Bank, the IDF said Thursday.
The incident occurred during a combined counterterrorism raid conducted by the IDF, Shin Bet and police forces.
Soldiers from the Nahal Brigade responded to the attacks in Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin, and successfully neutralized the threat, the IDF said, adding that there were no Israeli casualties.
According to the statement, security forces also arrested eight wanted individuals and seized two homemade “Carlo” submachine guns. The detainees and weapons were handed over to the Shin Bet and Israeli police for further investigation.
The raids were part of an ongoing Israeli effort in the West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, which was launched on January 21 and has since seen hundreds of arrests.
Also overnight, the IDF reportedly called off a raid in the Deheisha refugee camp near Bethlehem after troops were caught vandalizing Palestinian property and spray painting graffiti in homes.
Kan news reported Thursday that the soldiers, reservists tasked with erasing anti-Israel graffiti, defaced property with their own markings, despite being explicitly instructed to remove incendiary messages, not to create new ones that could further inflame tensions.
However, photos taken by Palestinian residents reportedly showed the defacement of walls by Israeli soldiers with their own graffiti, including Stars of David over the Arabic slogans, and drawings of rifles.
Upon receiving the images, Brigade Commander Col. “Gimmel” — identified only by his rank and first Hebrew initial — and Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig. Gen. Yaki Dolf immediately ordered the mission to be halted, withdrawing the soldiers from the area, Kan reported.
According to the report, the IDF has since opened an investigation to determine which soldiers violated orders.
The action appears to be part of a wider effort by new IDF chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to crack down on such acts of vandalism and restore military discipline that has become visibly lax over the last year and a half of war.
Last weekend, the IDF handed down punishments to several officers and troops for defacing Palestinian property during an unwarranted search of the southern West Bank village of Jinba.
Media reports said that Zamir himself went to Jinba to investigate the incident.
As the IDF intensifies its counterterrorism operations, the region remains in a fragile state, with a rise in settler violence.
On Tuesday, a mob of some 50 Israeli settlers attacked homes in the northern West Bank village of Duma, setting property ablaze and assaulting residents. Three Palestinians were reportedly injured in the attack.