Israeli security teams surrounded Ramallah overnight; according to a local source, only residents who could prove their status were allowed in and out of the city.
The soldiers sealed off the Palestinian Authority capital following the shooting of three Israeli soldiers by a PA police officer.
The dragnet came in response to an attack on Israeli soldiers earlier in the day by one of the members of the personal security team for Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
The officer drove up from Ramallah to the IDF checkpoint next to the Jewish community of Beit El. He got out of his car holding a handgun and shot three Israeli soldiers at point-blank range, seriously wounding two and a third less severely. Other soldiers immediately returned fire and killed the terrorist on site.
Less than two hours later, Arab terrorists attacked Israeli vehicles driving along Highway 443 – the old Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway – next to the Dor Alon gas station on the road. Although stone-throwing attacks on moving vehicles can be and have often been deadly, in this case no Israelis were injured.
Also Sunday evening, a young Arab was arrested after soldiers noticed he was acting in a suspicious manner near the Gush Etzion Junction. The wannabe jihadist was armed a heavy iron chisel, which he later confessed he was preparing to use in an attack on Israelis.
