The IDF said Saturday that an attempted attack took place near the Hashmonaim checkpoint in the Ramallah area, about 700 meters from the fence surrounding the city of Modi’in Illit.
“Earlier, a terrorist carried out gunfire near the security barrier by the Hashmonaim checkpoint and fled. There were no casualties,” an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said.
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A cordon imposed on several villages near the Hashmonaim checkpoint; archive photo
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
The attacker used a hunting rifle, and the gunfire was detected by Modi’in Illit’s local security system and by IDF regional defense soldiers. The military said it is treating the incident as an attempted attack unless proven otherwise.
Following the shooting, large numbers of forces were deployed to the area and launched searches for the suspect. The IDF said a cordon was imposed on several nearby villages.
The attempted attack came less than a day after a combined attack in the Jezreel Valley area, in which two people were killed: Samson Mordechai, 68, and Aviv Maor, 18. Two others were wounded, one moderately and one lightly, in a killing spree that lasted about 50 minutes.
The attacker in Friday’s assault was identified as Ahmad Abu al-Roub, 34, an illegal Palestinian entrant from Qabatiya in northern Samaria. He was ultimately shot and neutralized at the entrance to Afula and is listed in moderate condition.
According to the suspicion, the attacker had been in Israel for several days and used a vehicle belonging to his employer to carry out the attack. The employer, a resident of Arraba, was later arrested and transferred for Shin Bet interrogation. Hours later, security forces raided the attacker’s home village of Qabatiya, about 40 kilometers beyond the fence, and arrested his father.