Two Palestinian gunmen shot dead a security guard at the entrance to the city of Ariel in the West Bank late Friday, the Israeli military said, in a fresh attack that would further fuel tensions that have soared in the past two months.
The military said the attackers arrived at the entrance to the West Bank city and shot the guard, 23, from close range in his post before fleeing the scene. The military launched a pursuit in the West Bank after the suspects.
Footage from the scene of the attack
(Photo: Magen David Adom )
Security camera footage from the scene of the attack, which is being circulated on social media, shows the two terrorists getting out of a vehicle, running up to the guard post and shooting the guard with an improvised Carl Gustav submachine gun.
One of the gunmen was then seen returning to the car, making a U-turn and picking up the other assailant, who was waiting for him on the other side of the road.
According to the footage, the two did not enter Ariel itself and fled in the direction of a nearby village.
The IDF and Shin Bet forces, along with intelligence services, launched a manhunt for the suspects and began blocking roads in the area.
Magen David Adom paramedic Tomer Fein, who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said: “When we arrived, we saw a man - unconscious with gunshot wounds. He was not breathing and did not have a pulse. We performed medical tests and had to pronounce his death."
The security guard is the 15th victim of the current terror wave that began in late March and saw deadly attacks in Be'er Sheva, Hadera, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv.